the ways of energy
by spike tashy
Summary: eric tooms has never had a normal life. not only is he a class 5 mutant but he is also gay. so can he survive high school, being gay, the brotherhood, the government and his growing feelings for kurt. WARNING YAOI. kurtXOC. rated for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

Eric Tooms had never had an easy life, far from it. his parents were very respected geneticists, their specialty, mutations. so naturally when he came out to them about being a mutant they did not hate him. In fact if it was possible they loved him even more for his gifts. this stayed the same for about 3 years it was when he told them his other secret that they cracked. in one night they threw him out of the house and into the streets with little more then the cloths on his back. but Eric was very smart for someone, his age. The next day he went to the courts and got emancipated (1**) **from his parents. aa a result every week he got money from his parents and could spend it on anything he wanted. Shortly after that he enrolled in a private high school and soon he was one of the top students in his class. But even all that did not help, in school he was an outcast. He lived in a small house, just outside of the school grounds, He lived alone and he never had visitors. So when he came home to find his door wide open and a small group men and women in his home. He was not even in his home and he could hear what they were saying. "why are we doing here anyways professor." Eric did not know who these people were but he could tell one thing about them. They did not look like the kind of people to piss off. Just as he was about to speak he heard a woman's voice. "professor I don't understand. You said this mutant needed help but from what I can see he or she is doing very well for themself." Eric just about ran away right then and there.

he had just turned to run when he heard a calm voice speak. "Cyclops, Storm please, do not judge a person by the way they live. now if you would like to come out Eric, we need to talk." Eric just about lept out of his skin, when the man said his name. at first he did nothing but something in him told him to trust this man. slowly he walked into his home a saw the 3 people in it clearly. they were and interesting group. A man stood leaning against the wall next to his bookcase. nothing was impressive about him exept for the strange vissor he wore over his eyes. the other people were a different story completly. a tall woman with blue eyes and white hair stood next to a man in a wheel chair. no sooner had he mad eye contact with the man then he heard a voice in his head. '_there is no need to worry Eric we are not here to hurt you. my name is professor __Xavier. the other 2 are Storm and Cyclops. like you we hide a big secret.' _Eric grimmaced. "who are you people? what do you want?" Xavier put a hand up as though to fend him off. "please mister Tooms relax. like I said befor we mean you now harm. all we want to do is help you." Eric still did not trust them and he made it perfectly clear in his stance. Xavier looked around. it was obvious that Eric did not beleive that they ment him no harm. it was also clear that he was terified of them.

Xavier's eyes landed on Storm. "Storm I think it would be best if we gave mister Tooms here a demonstration of what we mean." Storm noded and focused her power for a split second. instantly the sky darkend and it began to rain. slowly Eric walked over to the window and looked out at the Storm. a flash of lightning and for a split second everything seemed fine, but the lightning never touched the ground. it forked away from the ground and curved, and headed straight for him. most men would have moved out of the way or even ducked, not him. even as the lightning came closer he began to use his power. for a split second, he glowed a faint green color, then the lightning struck him. instandly Eric felt like someone had poured liqued fire into his body. not once in his life had he ever absorbed the energy from a bolt of lightning. slowly he turned to face the group behind him. The woman looked scared. "professor I did not do that. you know I would never intentionaly hurt another mutant." Xavier noded and looked at the teenager infront of him. after a moment he smiled and spoke. "don't worry about it to much about that. energy always acts strange around me. it might have something to do about my mutation. you see I have the power to absorb any form of energy I come into contact with. not only that but once the energy is absorbed I can use it in any way I can think of."

he took a long breath and then continued. "for instance if I absorb energy and redirect it into my arms I gain super strength. if I put it into my legs a gain super speed. but... it can be very painfull too. I once absorbed all the energy from a subway train hitting me. I could not walk for the next few days without leaving craters were I stepped. It can be very hard to live fully when you have to line your cloths with lead." Scott, raised an eyebrow. "what do you mean?" Eric grimmised and began to remove his shirt. first came the top shirt, it was nothing special, a wool longsleave shirt. then came his undershirt. as he removed it he could see everyone in the room take a step back, and he knew why. as his shirt left his skin he stood there for all the world to see. he caught sight of hiself in the mirror hanging on the wall. were his heart should have been an erie yellow glow pulsed just under his skin. not only that but off shoots of light spiderwebbed around his 'heart'. Storm spoke first. "what is it?" Eric hung his head and then spoke, and when he did it was in a defeated voice, that had no hope in it. "this is my 'heart'. when I first began to develope my abilities I had constant chest pains. it go so bad that one day I blacked out and slipped into a coma. I don't think I would be here today if my heart had not stopped. you see my heart stopped beating because the energy I was absorbing was disrupting the signals from my brain to my heart. as for waking from the coma, well... when my heart stopped in the hospital they did what they normaly do. they tried to restart it be giving it a 30,000 volt zap."

Eric stopped and gestered to his 'heart' wich continued to glow and pulse. "as you can see my body absorbed the energy from the shock and used it to change my heart from a organic organ into a nuclear reaction. that is why I wear lead lined cloths. like plutonium my 'heart' gives off radiation. the lead in my cloths blocks it from getting out, not only that but I can absorb the radiated lead and recycle the energy from it again. that is my story." Xavier sat in a slightly stunned silence. for a few minutes no one spoke then Xavier spoke. "well you certainly know a lot about your powers but I'm curious. just what forms of energy can you absorb?" Eric grinned. "actually I can absorb all forms of energy. well... almost all forms pyhsic energy is nutrilized my my power. now please what did you come her for?" Xavier sighed and spoke. "mister Tooms I run a school for the gifted. a school for mutants like yourself and my friends here. we would like you to join us at the school. if it is OK with you?" Eric was stunned. "wait you want me, a mutant that has the power to destroy the world. you want me to join you and go to this school were what will happen? what exactly is it that you teach? I mean I know you most likely teach the normal classes but with a school full of mutants, you must teach other things."

Xavier nodded. "you guess right Eric, the school also teaches mutants to control their powers." Eric nodded and seemed to understand. Xavier continued to speak and explain his mission and ideas about mutants. after several minutes of this Eric put his hand up signaling for Xavier to stop. "so just so I understand, you want me to join your school?' Xavier nodded in agreement. Eric stood up and grinned. "alright but understand I will be paying for room and board. I will not take charity no matter how special you say I am." Storm, Xavier, and Cyclops nodded in agreement. "wait right here. I keep a travel bag packed at all times, in the chance that I need to leave in a hurry." Cyclops raised an unseen eyebrow. "why do you have that?" Eric shrugged. "well there are many reasons but there are 2 main reasons. the first reason is very simple. a suitcase full of lead lined cloths is very heavy. my travel bag has a lead lined diving suit in it. I can wear that until I can order some 'normal' cloths. the second reason is that after people find out that I'm a mutant they often try to chase me away. on a dozen occations they have set my home on fire. by having this bag I can ensure that I don't lose everything, if it happens again."

about 2 minutes later Eric returned with a small duffle bag in one hand and a small lether bound book in the other. Storm raised an eyebrow. "what is in the book?" Eric huffed in anoyance. "the information in the book is more valuable then all the money in the world. it contains the results of my experiments. meaning it contains the amount of energy needed to break just about any substance in the world. it even has coculations on how much energy is required to break adimanthium." Xavier looked shocked. "you have ovoiusly done a lot of experimenting with your powers." Eric nodded and stood bye the door. "well I'm ready to g-" Eric broke off, and for a moment no one spoke. Storm broke the silence. "what is it?" Eric looked at her, a look of amusment in his eyes. "someone is trying to break into my home. I'll be right back." Eric set the dufflebag on the floor and walked out of the door. Storm, Xavier and Cyclops moved to the window so they could see what was happening. Eric stood in the middle of the drive way for a moment and then snapped his fingers. a sizzling ball of energy snapped into existance hovering just above Eric's left shoulder. for the first time he got a look at the burglers. there were 4 of them. all of them had on matching outfits. ski mask, black jackets, and jeans. 2 of them held small knives, the third held a crowbar, and the fouth held a small hand gun. Eric smirked, they would be no trouble to deal with. Eric cleared his throut. the burglers whipped around and glared at him, and his ball of energy. on e of them pointed at him and spoke. "hey he is a mutie get him!" thr four men ran at him. Eric let out a laugh and let out a small yawn. as the first man neared him he began to move. Eric thrust an open handed strick to the man. bolts of electrisity launched from his hand to the man. the man let out a strangled cry of pain and crummpled to the ground. the second man to get near to him, met a similar fate. the third mantried to but him from stomach to throut. he side stepped the attack and after chaneling energy to his arms, brought his left arms down on the mans outstretched arm. he could feel the man's arm break and his brain overload with pain.

grinning Eric turned his attention to the last man. he had yet to move and he was the one with the crowbar. the man grinned and dropped the crowbar. "not bad kid. what are you in martial arts?" well now you fight me." the man did not run at Eric as he had thought he would but simply stretched his arms and pointed his open plam at him. fire erupted from his palm and shot towards Eric. Eric had not expected that and hardly had any time to channel his power to his whole body. he moved down to a low croutch and cover his face. as the fire engulfed him he let out an unheard laugh. the fire did not hurt at all. as the flames cleared he did his best to imatate a dead body. he felt the man move to stand over him. "just as I thought kid all flash no power." Eric stayed silent until he was sure the man had his back turned. Eric flipped himself pu into the air and brought his superhuman fist down on the man's skull. he felt the skull stress and then break as he shattered the skull. slowly Eric stood up and for the first time since the fight he bacame fully aware of just how much energy he had used. it felt like he had not eaten in a few days. he stumbled to the front of his home, he could hardly see straight. Eric slumped against the nearest wall and slid down to the ground. his vission was going blurring. he could hear Xavier's voice, but had a kind of echo to it, as though he was far away. he could feel himself being lifted off the ground and carried for a few minutes, then he blacked out.

when he came to he could feel a small source of energy nearby. he had not expected to feel the source fight back. then a voicef rom above him spoke. "please don't do that again. if you do I will be forced to hurt you." Eric opened his eyes and came face to face with Storm from before. Eric sat up and shook his head to clear it. "what happened?" Storm shrugged. "from what we can tell, you used up to much energy in the fight and could not stay awake. does this happen often?" Eric nodded. "yeah but not like this. In my notebook I did some study on my condition. if I don't absorb enough energy I can fall into depression and if it continues I can even slip into a coma like I did when I first began to change. were am I?" Storm looked around her. "your in the X mansion. more specificaly, your in West Chester New York. after the fight we brought you to the jet and flew you back here. you've been asleep for about 2 days." Eric nodded. "well for futur referance if that ever happens again you can just stick my finger in an electricla socket. it will recharge me and I will wake up." stom nodded althought Eric could tell she did not beleive him. Eric stood up and put his shirt back on, witch he had not relized was gone. just as he had placed his shirt back on, Ororo spoke. "you know I still needed to run some more tests, so if you would take off your shirt I can be done."

Eric rolled his eyes but did as he was asked. Ororo began her tests and shrotly after that began to talk to him. "when I was looking you over before I noticed to had a number of scars on your back. what happened?" Eric sighed. "I'll tell you but you can't tell anyone. if you do I will fry your brain. the truth is mutants hate me too. they think I have what they call human fault. the truth is I'm gay." Ororo had been expecting a lot of things. she had been expecting him to say he had an incureable disease. she had even expected him to say he hated other mutants. she had been prepaired for anything and everything, except that. Eric smiled at her stunded expretion. "yeah most people have that reaction. then they turn 1 of 2 ways. #1 they accept it, and I go on living my life. #2 they hate me and usualy try to attack me. as for the scars, well some people realy did not like me. so on my 13 birth day, they broke into my home and broke the gas line. when my boyfriend and I got home John (boyfriend) went to light the candels on my cake. next thing I knew I was surrounded by heat, light and noise. my power saved me but John was not so lucky, he was a mutant that could meld with machines but it did not help him, and there for did he not survive the blast. he died in my arms." Eric looked up at Storm with a slightly strained look. "not a day has gone by were I wish I could have saved him. I only have 2 things to remember him by. the first being the book I had earler, it was his idea to find out as much as I could about what I could do. the second thing is a motorcycle, a blue and silver, croch-rocket. wich if I still have my locator should be here in about 5 hours." Storm looked confused. "locator?"

Eric grinned. it was John's birthday present to me that night. he left it in a storage unit for me to pick up the next day, before we had gone home he had given me the key. apparently he had purchesed it about 6 months prior to his death. he had been spending that time moding it and giving it all kinds of gadgets. one of them is a global locator, at the press of a button the bike will attempt to hone in on my location. that being said don't be surprised if some of your students claim to see it." Storm nodded but in truth she only understood half of what had been said. "well if you will put your shirt back on we need to head to a meeting in the library. Xavier is talking with many of the teachers and some of the more powerfull student about you. right now he is just getting an idea of how the others will react to having a class 5 living with them." Eric nodded as his shirt slid back into place. he managed to swing his legs off the table and shakely stood up. for a second he closed his eyes and absorbed the energy from the heat in the room. after a second he stood straight and walked out with Storm. a short walk later he got his first view of his new home. beutiful oak paneling lined the walls, and the floor was a beutiful shade of gold. **(2) **as Storm and he neared the library he began to pick up slight differences in the level of energy in the area. he simply shrugged it off as people using their powers. when Storm stopped he almost walked into her. he had been so raped up in the place around him he had not noticed she had stopped.

"well here we are, the library. a word of advise relax, even though they may look mean the people in here are actually very kind. they know what it feels like to be persecuted for being different." Eric mentely rolled his eyes. Storm gave him a small smile and pushed the doors open. the library was big and deep. at the other end of the room was a grand fire place, and hudled around it stood half a dozen people. a tall rough looking man with slightly spiked up hair stood against the wall looking out of a window. next to him sitting in a chair was a young woman probably about 15, or 16 years old. she was of medium build and had shoulder length black hair with white highlights in the front(rough). next to her sat Xavier, and next to him sat Cyclops. next to him a teenager with blonde hair and a scateboard leaned in the wall behind him(Spyke). next to him sat a teenager about Eric's age not much about him screamed mutant. he was small build, mouse dark blue hair and soft looking skin(Nightcrawler ). when Storm closed the doors behind her they all looked up, Xavier spoke first. "ah Eric it is good to see you up and about. we were just talking about your little radiation problem. how long will your suit last?" Eric grinned. "oh don't worry professor I can have new cloths for me here by this time tomarro." the blonde haired kid spoke up. "names Spyke. how can you get them here so fast?" Eric grinned even wider. "well while I was walking down here I was using the wireless internet to fill out a few order forms, plus they know I'm rush delivery." Xavier nodded in agreement and held out his hand, clutched in it was the leather bound book Eric had held earlier. "I wanted to show the group your research on your powers but when I tried to open the book I found that it needed and energy print to open. I can assume that the 'print' it needs is your's?" Eric nodded. "yeah you need me to open the journal. the lock was John's idea. he always said that if that journal fell into the wong hands itcould be used as the ultimate weapon." the man with spiky hair snorted, Eric tunred to him. "oh you think I'm joking. inside that journal is the exact measurement of energy required to break just about any thing on this planet. not only that but it has my caculations for how much energy it would take to break adimanthium."

the last comment forced the man to laugh. "kid you think you can break adimanthium? I have that stuff covering every inch of my body. it can not be broken. the name is Logan by the way." Eric shook his head. "with all due respect Logan, that is simply not true. it can be broken it just takes a lot of energy to do. my powers alow me to absorb and then redirect the energy around me. if anyone will find a way to break adimanthium it will be me. adimantium is unique the harder you hit it the hard it becomes, however if you hit a low enough energy frequence you could in theory you could disolve the metal like a peice of ice, but lets not get into that. that is not why I'm here." Eric tunred to Xavier. "you want me here and as such I do have 3 conditions of me living here." Xavier noded but the others bristled. Eric paid them no attenton. "1, I will be paying for my stay. I don't take charity no matter what. 2, you have at ytour disposale any property I own. 3, you have access to my stock portfolder. that being said you have..." Eric broke off looking around. after a minute he shrugged his shoulders and brought his forarms together. a moment of consentration and then he slowly pulled them apart. the space between his arms had turned a pale white and shimmered as though water was held there. when his armer were about shoulder width apart the film 'broke' and he began to touch and prode the screen. Nightcrawler spoke. "what is that?" Eric shrugged. "this is the litteral definition of a plasma screen. I took the radiant plasma from the air and focused it, into a screen I can use. I also tuned it so I could use the wireless internet in the mansion. ahh here it is." Eric waved his arm in a long sweep. the screen grew in size until it was as big a a large TV. on it were dozens of stock numbers and propert contracts. Eric snapped his fingers, and focused. the screen began to darken and shrink. a few seconds later the screen fell to the floor as a dozen sheets of solid plasma. Eric picked the sheets up and handed them to the professor. "that is a list of all property and stocks that you now co-own with me.

Xavier looked up from the sheets. "you have obviously taken care of your self." Eric nodded. "I wanted to be someone. I guess I am now. Oh something I did not mention before I work with a scientist named doctor, Martha Coners. she monitors my body's reaction when I absorb energy. she may call from time to time. so just a headfs up on that. oh by the way would you mind dropping the hologram you are 'wearing'." Nightcrawler blinked in surprise. "how did you know I was using a hologram?" Eric rolled his eyes. "well not only can I manipulate and absorb energy I can also sence its use. for instance, I can 'feel' your holograsm in use. not only that but I can 'hear' electrical signals. for example I can read emails as they are being sent, not only that but I can listen in on phone calls from the other side of the house, because I'm hearing the electrical impulses that my brain translates into word and sentences." Eric paused and caught sight of the slightly worried looks and the people's faces. "you don't have to worry though, I know when and when not to 'hear' things. now if you don't turn that thing off I will." Eric ended his sentence by pointing at Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler shrugged. "alright but call me Kurt." and with that he turned off his holo-emitter.

Blue. that was the first thought that blasted into Eric's mind. the second thought that blasted itself into his mind was this guy was HOT. **(3) **he was so taken aback by Kurt's appearance that for a oment he lost grip on his powers and the lights flickered in the room. Eric put his hand behind his head and told a quike lie. "huh, that watch of your is strong it made me loose my grip on the energy in the room." the others let out a small stifle of laugphter and seemed to buy his lie. unseen by Eric or the others Storm's eyes narrowed, and she made a mental note to ask him about that later. Eric couphed and let out a small moan. Xavier raised an eyebrow. "are you alright Eric." Eric nodded and closed his eyes. "yeah I'm fine, I just need to be a little more careful of the amount of energy I use. being out cold for 2 days limits my powers." Xavier nodded. "yes, well perhaps we can finish this later. I can sence there are somethings you would like to tell me in private. for now why doesn't Storm show you to your room." Storm nodded and so did Eric. "thank you professor." and with that Eric and Storm left the room. just as they were about to leave Eric turned back to the professor. "here." Eric snapped his fingers and then left. no sooner had the echo of his snapp died away then his journal jumped into the air and unlocked itself.

**X MEN'S POV**

as the door closed behind Eric and Storm, Eric's journal fell into Xavier's lap. Xavier looked around. "well what do you think of him?" Logan spoke first. "well charles you sure know how to pick them. he seems like he thinks he is less then he really is, and people like that can be dangerous. if he is going to stay here we should keep an eye on him. other there that I think he is a good person." Spyke spoke next. "what did you mean by 'things to tell me in private. you know how we are about secret professor." Xavier nodded. "Spyke while I can understand your consern it is not needed. while I may not beable to completly read his mind I was able to 'skim' it while he was asleep. his mutation has brought him a lot of pain over the years. the worst of witch seems to being separating him from the 1 person he has truly loved." Nightcrawler I'm particularly interested in what you think of him." Nightcrawler looked superised. "why would you want my views?" Xavier sighed, and rubbed his forhead. "well from what I was able to glimps in his mind he is still very insecure, with his powers. he may have seemed confident but secretly I think he was scared that he would lose control while using them and be forced to leave. in a way he and you are very alike. both of you were afraid to use your powers out of fear for being thought different. I also think that he lied to us about the power flicker. the physic flicker I got from him was not of alarm but of recognition. It is possable no matter how unlikely that he has seen another mutant who looks like or similar to you. Because of that I want your opinion." Nightcrawler nodded and spoke. "well I think he will fit in very well here. I'm a little conserned for his powers, and I think we should keep an eye on him." Xavier nodded in agreement, after a few seconds he spoke. "would you be Ok with him sharing aroom with you?" Nightcrawler nodded. "sure he is welcome with me." all the others nodded in agreement. "well then it is settled. Eric Tooms is now a member of mutant high. I've already enrolled him at Bayvill High school. he will start as soon as the weekend is over. until then make him feel as welcome as possable. everyone nodded and left. Xavier staid behind looking into the fire. after several minutes he opened the leather bound journal infront of him.

on the inside cover was a photograph and several words. 'More then knowledge is held within these pages.' Xavier raised an eyebrow and looked at the picture. 4 people stood in it. Eric on the very far left. he stood straight backed and proud looking. if you looked closly you could just barly make out the glow of his 'heart'. but it was the person next to him that caught his attention. blue fur, black eyes, and a lean and slender body. the person next to Eric might have well been Nightcrawler's twin. he stood about the same heighth as Eric and had a massive smile on his face. next to him stood a woman with shoulder length silver hair. she wore a white vest with black pants, and a blood red pendant around her neck. standing behind her was another girl. this one was younger and had very tired look on her face. her green eyes were slightly droopped, and her black hair hung lank from her head. she had on a small commando style combat vest with, cammo pants. a combat knife strapped to her left leg. under the photo was more writing. 'this journal belongs to Eric A. Tooms. Original member of the Generation M.'

**Eric'S POV**

As Eric and Storm left thr library he could not help but feel a sense of happiness. he was staying. no more living alone, and being lonely. he was living with others like him. well maybe not exactly like him but close enough. Eric was only brought back to reality when Storm cleared her throut. Eric looked at her, "yes?" Storm grinned in a friendly way. "what was the deal with the light flicker when kurt showed his true form?" Eric turned slightly red and looked down at his feet. after a few seconds he looked up and put his hand behind his head. "well aside from the fact that he is a major hottie, I would have to say it is because he looks a lot like my junior high school friend, Necro." Storm raised an eyebrow. "Necro?" Eric grinned. "yeah, back in junior high I used to hang with a group. we were a strange collection of people. the four of us called ourselfs Generation M. each of use had a power or a mutation in some form. John, could meld with machinerie. Jacky, could move in hyper time **(4). **Lucinda was an elemental. by far though Necro was the strangest of us all. during the day he was twice as stronge and fast as any human could be. by night he was a god. when darkness hit him nothing could stop him. during the night he and I were an even fight. after junior high we all sort of broke up. you know how it goes. we all still keep in contact but we dont see each other very much. that was why the lights flickered. I thought you guys had recruted him as one of your X men. " Eric broke off a slightly sad look on his face. Storm put her arm on his shoulder. "well now you dont have to be lonely. you have us and everyone else in the mansion." Eric grinned and nodded. "well trust me there is one good thing about having me here. your energy bill will be very small. I've already started to match my energy frequencyto that of the mansion. when I have completed that, the extra energy in my body will be 'brodcast' directly into the mansion's electrical grid." Storm noded, "I'll be sure to tell the professor." Eric looked at her.

"by the way with all the comotion I forgot. what day is it?" Storm smiled. "it's Sunday, a little past noon." Eric nodded to himself. "great just enough time to call my bike." and with that Eric pulled out what looked like a small remote and pushed a small red button. Eric felt a small energy pule signal that the remote worked, and a few seconds later he felt a return pulse meaning the bike was now honing in on his location. for the next few hours Storm showed Eric around the mansion. by the timne dinner was called Eric was tired wich was something considering he could absorb the ambent energy, in the area. Eric and Storm were walking back to the mansion when a reving noce reached their ears. Eric unred just in time to see his bike pull up next to him. he grinned and turned to Storm. "how do you feel about takeing a quike detour, say around the city?" storom smiled. "I would love to" Eric grinned and tossed Storm a helmet. "here. I feel like driving fast and furious." Storm had hardly registered what Eric had said before he had gunned the motor and the bike had shot forward. Storm barly had time to wrap her arms around Eric's shoulders. in less then a minute they were on the main street and gaining speed. Eric grinned to himself. he could feel storms fright and it was almost a drug to him.

Storm was about to tell Eric to stop when she felt him change lane into the on comeing traffic lane. cars, trucks, and other motocycles wizzed by them as they shot down the wrong lane. not that there was anythin to worry about. since he had gotten on the bike he had been putting energy into his eyes giving himslef enhanst sight and reflexes. a truck to his left, 3 cars to his right and 2 bikes infront of him. peice of cake. Eric let out a bark of laughter as he shot past everyone, jumped a lane and pulled into the mansion driveway with a loud 'errrrrrrrch'. in less then 2 minutes they were both climbing off of his bike infront od the mansion. Storm could not stop shaking. "your...your..." Eric looked at her. "I'm...I'm?" Storm took a deepo breath of air and spoke in a voice of controlled fear. "your, crazy! we could have died." Eric chuckled. "that is what everyone says, but this strange thing happened. we didn't die did we?" and with that Eric put his bike keys in his pocket and walked inside. as Eric neared his room he began to think. stepping into his new shared room, he disided to taker a nice shower. showers were one of the few things he could really enjoy. as Eric stepped into the boil stream of water he felt his power kick in. the boilling hot water that hit him lost it's heat and dripped off his body as cold water. shortly after that Eric climnbed out and began to dry himself off. as he was drying his hair he caught sight of himself in the mirror.

he stood about 6'1". he had died, blonde hair although his roots were coming back revieling that his hair was naturaly black in color. his face was spotless of any blemishes. infact anyone would have said he was human if not for the slightly glowing silver eyes he had. he had a very defined chest and abs. pale skin stretched from his chest to the very tips of his fingers. the only color on his arms came from the linning of slightly golden hairs on his arms and legs. his heart continued to glow and pulse, its bright white light. his 'heart' was surrounded by a multitued of scars. as Eric continued to looked he began to finger one of them. he traced the circular scar around his heart. it was one of the few self inflicked scars. he had given himself it when he had tried to cut out his heart, right after John had died. Eric sighed, since he had mutated he had not changed much at least not physicaly. thanks to his lack of any internal organs he could not grow much. the doctors hardly understood anything about his power or even how his body was still funtioning. he did not produce many hormonse so his body did not change often. his hair and nails hardly ever grew, although he had to get it cut and redied about once every year. what the doctros studied was his power and the production of a unique hormone that only he had. they had no name for it but they knew what it did. the more energy he had in his body the better he looked. however this was a double bladed sword. the hormone also drove his need for energy.

from what the doctros had told him his body produced maybe 1 of what it needed. he had to absorb and leech the rest of it. not that it was hard. if he stood out in the sun for about 15 minutes he would have absorbed enough energy to last him the day. another strange thing about his power was the fact that he had no 'on' or 'off' switch. his body always absorbed energy, from the light, and heat around him. he did however have to focus to absorb the more complicated forms of energy, such as sound, kenetic, stored, and radiation. physic energy was a whole differnt ballgame for him. while his body could not absorb it it would be nutrilized natural. that being said no physic could read his mind, or force him to do anything if he did not want to. Eric sighed again and got dressed. when he exited the bathroom he wore a skin tight light green tank top, and black cargo pants. both were lined with micro lead. as Eric flopped down onto his new bed he became aware that he was not alone in the room. his newe roommate, Kurt wagner sat on his chair infront of his desk, doing what appered to be school work. Eric sighed and rolled over onto his back. with a split second of consentration he focused his power into another plasma screen.

this screen however was different then the one he had pulled up for xavier. like a computer Eric could asign certain screens to certain jobs. in this screens case it had a dirrect link to his preivous home. Eric grinned as readings came through on the screen. word of his move had gotten around fast. Eric chuckled and activated the internal and external cameras around his home. as the images loaded he felt kurt stand up and sit down next to him. Eric waved his hand and the screen grew to 3 times what it had been. the sreen now was about the size of the bedroom walls. Eric sat up and pushed the screen so it was right against the wall. Eric turned to kurt. "well shall we see what the public has done to my home?" kurt looked at him for a second and then nodded. Eric snapped his fingers and the images popped onto the screen. the place was trashed. all the furnature had been broke or was missing. the walls had been written on and he could see that there was a lot of fire damage. tyhe carpet had been torn up and most of it was gone. "garage interior cameras." the images changed to his garage. the tools he had once used to work on his bike were now gone. he could see dozens of broken parts, and tools littering the floor. here and there a display screen flickered as though it still had some life in them. graffiti and writing littered the walls, and floors. "interior cameras Eric's bedroom." the image changed and another room appeared.

Eric's bedroom had been hit the hardest. his bed was in scattered peices, his dresser and nightstand were both completly torn to shreds and his mirror was shattered and demolished. Eric grinned and stood up. he turned and looked at Nightcrawler. it was only then he noticed he had attrackted a small croud. kitty was sitting next to kurt. spkye was sitting on the floor next to rouge. even Logan was leaning against the wall looking at the destrution on the screen. Eric grinned and spoke. "computer activate situation 3857. self destruct in 2 minutes. extirior cameras grounds view." the picture on the screen changed to that of the house from the street. a small count down timer appearred near the bottom of the screen, and began to count down. as the timer counted Eric turned to his audiance. "what say we wake the town?" Eric turned back to the sreen and spoke. "computer reset self destruct tinme say 10 seconds." the clock vanished for a second and then changed. Eric smiled and waited. the timer hit 0. his house glowed and then began to pulse. half a second after the house pulsed, a blinding light flashed and the house simply vanished into thin air.

Eric grinned and waved his hand. a smaller screen opened up and showed a bunch of read outs. as Eric read them he began to smile. "yes the house survived the transfer into the pocket-verse." Logan spoke from the doorway. "pocket-verse?" Eric turned and nodded. "yeah since people kept trying to destroy my home I had john build a projector that could place my home and everything inside of it in another dimention. this dimention is inbetween other dimentions. in layman terms, the house and everything in it is in another dimention." Eric stood up and snapped his fingers. the screen vanished and Eric turned to leave. Spyke spoke. "hey were are you going?" Eric shrugged. well I have to tell a few people that I've moved. I would also like to work check on my bike to make sure that nobody messed with it. you kow the normal things I would do. bye."

**A FEW HOURS LATER**

Logan walked into the garage with the wanting for a strong beer. since most of the students were teenagers, xavier would not let him keep his strong beer in the house. he had just shut the fridge door when he spotted aric sitting on the top of one of the sgelves looking out into space. he aprotched the shelf and spoke. "what is it?" Eric's gaze never left the window. "I lied, you know?" "huh?" Eric looked down at Logan. a slightly confused look on his face. it looked as though he did not know what to do now. "my house. there was no pocket-verse. my home was broken down on a molecular level. it left no trace if it's existance. I have no home now. Logan... do you mind if I ask you something?" Logan nodded his head. "what is your story?" Logan shrugged. "I don't know much about my past. some goolse who worked for the government gave me and indestructable skeleton. I dont know much past that." Eric nodded, and jumped down from his perch on the shelf. "yoou know I'm curious. just what is your power?" Logan grinned and popped his claws, Eric grinned. "nice." Logan retracked his claws and nodded. "yeah they are cool, thay are also useful. now come on my beers getting warm." Eric grinned and began to walk with Logan. after a few minutes of silence Logan spoke. "you know you don't have to be alone. xavier, Storm, me, and everyone else is here to help you dont shut them out." Eric's smile vansihed and when he spoke it was in a voice of sadness. "Logan, it's not that simple. I've been alone for most of my mutant life. I was hated by humans for being a mutant and mutants hated me because I was so powerful. It's hard for me to let people get close to me. I guess I'll try but you must understand. underneith it all, I'm a very messed up child. my best friend died in my arms because of me."

Logan sighed and looked away. "kid, we all live fucked up lives. because of people like xavier people like us have a place to go and try top get away from it all. dont shun help. damn." Eric looked at Logan. "what?" Logan put his beer on the table. "it got warm. I hat warm beer." Eric grinned grabbed the beer, and focused. a few seconds later he tossed the beer back to Logan. it was now so cold it had frost on the sides. Eric grinned and shrugged. "one of the many perks of my power is I will always have the coldest drink. thanks for the chat loagn. I needed it. good night." Eric left the kitchen and shortly after was curled up under his bedsheets. as he tried to fall asleep he let his mind wander. strangly it came to kurt. he really was very cute. Eric even found himself woundering silently if he was gay. almost as soon as that thought entered his head it was snuffed out. no he was not gay he could tell that. for some reason he found that that disapointed him. even though he hardly knew kurt his energy felt very nice. it was almost like feeling the sun on his skin. lurt's energy was warm inviting, and it had aan arua that made him never want to leave it. Eric shrugged and rolled onto his side. he had school thenext day and he needed a good night sleep. even though he technicaly did not need to sleep he still liked to dream. the last thought that hit his mind befor he fell asleep was woundering if kurt's fur was soflt like silk or like leather.

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A:N) well folk here it is. my big secret project. I hope you all liked it. I'm sorry about Eric's semming unstoppabel I will be reveiling his weakness very soon.

1.emancipated it means to be legaly an adult even though you are not yet 18. kind of like a divorse from your family.

2.I will not be going ito a lot of detail about the mansion. we all know how and what it looks like.

3.my referace3 to kurt being hot is true. I think Nightcrawler Is by far the sexyest xmen ever. BE WARNED THIS STORY IS A KURT YAOI FICK.

4.hyper time a stae of being were a person's molicules are moving so fast that they apear to vanish into thin air. to the travler the world around them apears to be moving in slow motion. if you still dont understand it then you can google it.

in the next chapter you will get to see Eric face off against. quiksilver, blob, and avalanch. (he will be making frineds with todd.


	2. Chapter 2

_logan sighed and looked away. "kid, we all live fucked up lives. because of people like xavier people like us have a place to go and try top get away from it all. dont shun help. damn." eric looked at logan. "what?" logan put his beer on the table. "it got warm. I hat warm beer." eric grinned grabbed the beer, and focused. a few seconds later he tossed the beer back to logan. it was now so cold it had frost on the sides. eric grinned and shrugged. "one of the many perks of my power is I will always have the coldest drink. thanks for the chat loagn. I needed it. good night." eric left the kitchen and shortly after was curled up under his bedsheets. as he tried to fall asleep he let his mind wander. strangly it came to kurt. he really was very cute. eric even found himself woundering silently if he was gay. almost as soon as that thought entered his head it was snuffed out. no he was not gay he could tell that. for some reason he found that that disapointed him. even though he hardly knew kurt his energy felt very nice. it was almost like feeling the sun on his skin. kurt's energy was warm inviting, and made him never want to leave it. eric shrugged and rolled onto his side. he had school thenext day and he needed a good night sleep. even though he technicaly did not need to sleep he still liked to dream. the last thought that hit his mind befor he fell asleep was woundering if kurt's fur was soflt like silk or like leather._

**CHAPTER 2**

3:00 A.M., that was the time that eric woke from his pleasant dream. when he relized he was awake he almost cried. it had been such a good dream, but he did have a schedual to keep. eric silently got up and and got dressed. a few seconds later he was sneaking out of his and kurt's room. silent as the grave he made his way down the grand satir. he had just turned a corner when he felt it. he had less then a second to put enegry into his kin to make it harder then dimonds, before 3 metal claws tried to take his head off. a flash of sparks flashed from the claws scraping against his hardened skin. acting out of reflex eric grabbed the claws and pulled with his enhansted strength. logan flashed by his view before he was thrown the length of the hallway. lgan hit the floor slid another 5 feet into the base of the far wall. his claws retracted , and he let out a small moan. "ow, what the hell are you doing up and sneaking around at this time of the morning?" eric shrugged. "I go for a morning jog every day. what are you doing up this early?" logan got p and dusted himself off. "same here. you want to go together?" eric grinned and nodded. shortly after that eric found himself on a fast run through the city, with logan. as they turned into an alley-way, they ran into trouble.

a group of thugs jumped out atthem from behind a set of dumpsters. "all right boys hand over all your money." logan and eric acted at the same time. logan twisted his wrists. with a loud, 'skinnt' his claws popped out of his knuckles. eric on the other hand opened his hands and fingers. electricity began top climb inbetween his fingers, and up his arms. eric looked at logan and logan looked at eric. both grinned at the same time. logan launched himself forward and cut through one of the thugs guns. even as the parts fell he grabbed the man and threw him into the wall. after a short knife fight witha the second thug he turned to see how eric was doing. eric had grabbed one of the thugs and had both his arnms in a back lock. **(1) **a simple twist and a loud crack signaled that he had broken both of the thugs arms. eric turned his attention to the last thug. he held a shotgun and was already taking aim. eric felt the energy pulse and threw out his hand. lightning shot from his finger tips, and struck the thus in the chest. the thug was thrown the length of the all, struck the wall and slid down the wall and did not move.

loagn retracted his claws, and let out a small whistal. "not bad kid, not bad. were did you learn to fight like that?" eric shrugged. "when you live alone, and are a mutant you learn to defend your self." eric glansed down at his watch and then looked up. "I have to go if I want to get back in time to eat breakfast." eric waved to logan and then channeled energy into his legs. in less then 5 seconds he was back at the mansion. as eric walked in the doors his ears were met with the sounds of life. students, talking and laughing. eric grinned and headed for his and kurt's room. eric stepped into his room and grabbed his bagkpack. he just stuck his head into the kitchen to get a bite to eat when a mob almost ran him over on their way to the table. as eric fixed is toast he heard someone shouting "mail call." he hardly ever got mail so when spyke tossed a pakeage to he he almost did not catch it. a small card was attached to the box. looking at the return address eric found that the pakeage was from Exogen. 'dear eric your a bitch to find. you should have told us you had moved. anyway, a few years ago you sugested a bio generated creature that used your bodies natural radiation to live. 3 days ago we completed it. in this pakeag is experiment ID# 1012712270. just put it over your heart and absorb the small amount of energy already in it. then hold on to your hat. it will sting a little bit at first. if the pain persistes stop and send it back. let me know how it works.'

as eric finished reading the letter his heart began to pound. had they really done it? did he no longer have to wear lead lined clothing? eric crumpled the note and tor into the pakeage. inside the box was a small 1 cup beaker. inside the beaker was what looked like black jello. as eric looked at it he felt it began top react to the small amount of radation that passed through his cloths. then someone spoke from the table. "yo eric what is that stuff?" eric looked up to find that it was kurt wgho had spoken. infact everyone was now looking at the beaker with mild interest. "this might just stop all the radition my body makes. that is of course if it works. wish me luck." eric picked up the beaker and slowly caried it to the bathroom. once there he locked the door, and took off his shirt. as his heart continued to pulse and glow eric stuck his hand into the beaker. almost at once the jell began to literaly crawl out of the jar and onto his skin. eric gritted his teeth and put a masive glopb right in the center of his glowing heart, and held his breath. the seconds ticked by. then the pain hit him. it felt like someone was trying to cut out his heart. eric fell to his knees and began to shake. he could feel the jell expanding covering more of his body. he could feel it creeping down his stomach, and wrapping around to his back. he then became aware of a new feeling.

the jell was wrapping itself around his legs, and at the same time it began to crawl up his neck. eric let ut a small scream that echoed off the walls. his knees seemed to vanish out from under him and he colapst onto the floor. he felt his hand hit the beaker and felt it land on his chest breaking open and spilling more jell onto his body, and still the jell continued to close around him. it was down to his feet now. then another new feeling hit him, pressure. it felt like he was being crushed by the jell. as it began to cover his face he became aware of somthing, numbness. the feeling was spreading from his feet to his chest. as the jell crept past his eyes he felt it do something he had not expected. it began to crawl into his mouth and nose. then all at one the jell just seemed to evaporate. one minute he was looking at the black of the jell, the next he was looking up at the ceiling. eric slowly and shakely, stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. the first thing he noticed was that his heart was gone. the glow from his herat was almost completly gone. the skin around his heart was slightly paler then the rest but you only saw it if you looked closly.

eric turned and did a 360 spin. it was then that he noticed it. the veins on his back had turned black and showed through his skin. eric shugged and began to put his skin back on. a few black lines on his back, he could say that they were a tattoo. eric grinned and opened the door, he came face to face with xavier and storm. "eric I felt a sence of panic are you OK?" eric nodded. "yeah I just was not expecting the jell to react like that to my body." xavier raised an eyebrow. "jell?" eric sighed and explained what had happened. after he was done he looked at them. storm spoke first. "so you now produce no radition, correct?" eric nodded. storm and xavier both looked at eachother and then looked at him. "you know you will be late if you dont get going. we will talk more tonight." eric nodded and walked down to the front stepps of the mansion. there he stopped. everyone else had left already, on their way to school, so he had noone to walk with. he could take his cycle but he waould attract stares, and he did not want that at least not on the first day of school. eric shrugged, and channeled energy into his legs. eroc took off leaving a plume of dirt and dust behind him. as eric shot down the streets, of the city he smiled.

he was mving faster then most people could see. to everyone he seemed to be just a gust of wind. eric turned off the main street and shot down a side street. hugging the wall eric began to crouch. as he neared the end of the street he jumped straight up. eric shot 30 stories straight into the air. as he flew over the city he felt a feeling of peace settle in. up here nothing could stop him. every hair on his body stiffened alowing him to absorb as much energy as possable in that time. but all to soon he found gravity pulling him back down. he landed with a loud crunch about a block from the school. so as not to attract attention to himself he walked the rest of the way, to the school. eric walked up the steps and became awear that he was being watched. eric looked around but could not see what the source of this feeling was. eric shrugged it off, we always felt strange when he was at a public school. he had just placed his backpack in his locker when he felt a hand grip his shoulder. eric spun around expectng a fight, what he found was the principal. "oh principal Darkholme, don't do that. I dont like it when people sneak up on me."

Mystique nooded and spoke. "understandable. I would like to speak to you in my office for a moment." eric shrugged and allowed himself to be taken to her office. eric looked across the desk at the principal. he could feel a small differance in her body energy, it felt like mutant energy. Mystique sat down and looked at the boy infront of her. he did not look like avery big threat to Magneto's plans, but if there was one thing she had learned it was never to judge by appearance. "you know eric, not everyone is as blessed as you are." eric shrugged. "yeah I know. Not everyone is rich." mystique shook her head. "no that is not what I ment. I ment not everyone is so lucky to be a mutant." eric shrugged again. "I guess..." she was leading him onto somthing, that much he could tell. mystique continued on. I work for a a man who beleives that a war is coming. this war will decide the fate of mutants and humanity. he feels like we should win. he wants you to join him and gfight on the side of mutants." eric felt anger boiling in the pit of his stomach.

when eric spoke, it was in a voice of forced calm. "so just so I understand, you want me to betray the only other people who trust me! you want me to work for a man who does not even have the balls to show himself?!" eric stood up and gripped the desk. mystique stood up also. "you have no idea who your messing with boy. if you turn this down you will have made a powerful enemy." eric snorted with inderferance. "lady I was just about to say the same thing." and with that eric picked the whole desk up and broke it in half like it was a stick. mystique shrunk back slightly. she knew Magneto had said he was powerful but super strength was not rare. "you think just cause I'm a mutant I'll side with you?! HOW DARE YOU!" eric was so mad that he was beginnning to lose control of his powers. the lights began to flicker and pulse, in rythm with his heart beat. "lady trust me, my powers are far stronger then you could even imagine. good day to you ma'am!" with that eric grabbed his books and stormed out of the room.

**TODD'S POV**

Todd Tolonskey, had just finished unlocking his locker when he felt anger. personal experance told him to be carfull. tood carfully looked around. he had to look carfully becasue if he caught anyone's eye he was usually beaten up, and being in the brother hood did not stop them. it was then that he saw the source of the anger he was feeling. a boy about his age. tall, died hair, and a mad look on his face. all that plus the fact that he was heading this way made todd a little nervous. but he had never been one to judge on looks, so when the boy tunred and opened the locker right above his he did what came natural, he smiled. the boy stopped halfway through putting his books in a bag he had around his shoulder. for a full minute the boy stared at him then to todd's surprise the boy gave him a small weak smile. todd smiled back and went on his way thiking he had made a new friend.

**ERIC'S POV**

eric walked down the halls of his new school he felt slightly better. the smile his locker neighbor had given him had help to sedate some of his anger at mystique. for the next few classes he went through the normal 'new guy' routine. saying hello, sitting next to someone he did not know, answer question about himself, lieing for half of the question to hide the fact that he was a mutant and agy. so by the time lunch rolled by he was more then ready to get out of the school for a while. insdtead of eating however eric had a different intention. making his way behind the school he found just what he was looking for, the school fussion box. placing both hands on the cables running from the box. no sooner had his hands made contact with the cbale then he felt it. the strange burning, tingling feeling that came from him abosrbing leathal amounts of energy. as the energy pulsed through his body he began to feel a little less tired. a few minuteslater eric walked out from behind the school brimming with energy. as he looked around the school he noticed a slightly depressed energy signature. eric had never been one to let people be depressed and not do anything so he made his way to the source.

as he neared the basket ball court he found the source of the energy. the boy who had waved to him earlier. he sat next to the courts looking longingly at the boys playing on the court. eric neared the boy and spoke. "what is the matter?" the boy looked slightly surpried to see him but he answered noe the less. "oh well I wanted to play ball with them, but they laughed and made fun of me." eric stood next to the boy and focused his attention on the ball. orange, rubber, and a lot of energy running through it because of the heat on it. eric grinned and placed his hands out in front of him. the boy looked at him curiously. thern all at once the ball exploded in mid air. as the boys groaned and left the court eric spoke. "I'll play you if you want," todd looked at him. "how can we play the ball exploded?" eric shook his head. with me you can never be sure of what you see. you might find that what you saw is not what happened." eric waslked out onto the court and snapped his finger. as if by magic the peices of the balls flew into the air and reformed back into the ball. todd looked at the boy, and grinned. "your a mutant." eric nodded. ''the name is eric but most people call me charge." todd nodded and smiled back. "name is todd but everyone calls me toad." eric grinned. "fair enough, you start." so for the rest of the lunch period eric and toad played basket ball.

as lunch ended, Eric glanced at his schedule, and found that he had gym next. eric sighed. befor gym had been his most dreaded class. mostly because he was requered to take off his shirt, and expose his glowwing heart. almost at once eric perked up. now that his heart did not glow he was sort of looking forward to gym. as eric entered the gym he found that he was not the only mutant there. kurt, and spyke was also there. eric grinned and nodded at them and they nodded back. as he walked over to them he could not stop grinning. he was getting to enjoy gym for the first time in a long time. as eric walked to the locker rooms to dress down he relized something. he would be seeing kurt with out his shirt or pants. granted it would only be the body thrown up by the image inducer but still, it was kurt's semi naked body. eric began to get slightkly red at the thought, this fact was helped by nightcrawler putting his hand on his shoulder and asking if eric was 'ok'. eric let out a small "yes" and continued walking to the locker room. as eric beagn to get redressed for gym he caught kurt out of the corner of his eye. he almost died.

kurt was a freaken god in hiding. **(I wont spoil anyone's vission of semi naked human kurt so I wont describe him.) **through out the whole period eric could hardly keep his eyes on what he was doing. they just seemed drawn to kurt's form. it was just god like. his body seemed to be perfect in everyway. this normaly would not have been a problem were it not the fact that they were doing dodge ball in gym. normaly this was an easy sport for eric. he would simply put extra energy into his eyes and that would force his reflexes to heighten, to a point were he could simply step out of the way of even the fastest ball. but with all his attention on kurt he had a very hard time playing, so by the time they went go get redressed eric had been hit quite a few times. as eric left the locker rooms. after gym was eric's break period, normaly eric would sit alone at a table and read or experiment with his powers but today was different. he felt like going for a small jog around the school. as eric rounded the lunch room area he began to hear shouting and the sounds of a fight going on. as eric neared the shouts he began to make out the sounds of someone begging them fighters to stop. eric rounded a corner and found the fight. 3 teenagers were kicking his newest friend tood in the ribs. "HEY STOP IT!"

the 3 boys turned and grinned at eric. "what? all we are doing is beating up a mutie. what is the harm in that?" eric felt anger burst into his chest. glancing around he found the perfect weapon. a chain link fense post stiking out of the ground. eric grabbed the top part and tore the post out of the ground. as it came up he could feel concrete sticking to the bottom. with 1 hand he pointed the pipe at the boys. "I said leave him alone." the boys had gone slightly pale but showed no signs of backing down. eric had expected them to do a lot of things, but they did the one thing he had not expected, they charged him. eric brought the end of his makeshift staff down infront of the first man. the concrete at the end exploded sending rocks and concrete flying, in ever direction. that took the first boy down. eric spun around and smashed the end of his staff into the second boy's ribs, sending him to his knees. he turned to face the thrid and final boy. "you leave now or you will end up like your friend." the boy smiled. "your one of them.a mutant, a freak, DIE!" as the boy charged eric sighed, and spun around. the end of the pole slammed into the boys chest sending him flying backward and hitting a wall about 12 feet away. eric gave him a once over. a few broke ribs nothing deadly, he was fine. eric turned to todd who by now had raised himself up to his legs and was shakely leaning against the wall. "thanks for helping me." eric nodded and put his arm under todd's arms to help steady him. "dont mention it. come on I'm taking you to the nurce." todd thanked eric and after several minutes they found themselfs in the nurce's office. after staying to find out how bandly todd had been hurt eric said his goodbyes and on his way out glansed at the clock. it read 2:58. he had 2 minutes untill school was out, so he went and got his things out of his locker.

as he began walking out he heard someone saying his name. eric turned, and found that spyke and kurt were running up to him. unseen by them everytie kurt said eric's name a shiver of happiness shot up his spine. "is it true that you had to take Tolonskey to the nurce?" eric nodded and told them about what he had seen, and done. by the time he had finished, scott, jean, and rouge had joined them. as they began to walk eric listened to all of them tyalk about their day. as they turned into a short cut he felt it. a massive spike in kenetic enegry and it was headded straight for them. eric spun around and saw what it was. a dumpster was headed straigh for him. it hit him so fast he almost did not have time to create an absorbtion feild around him to absor the energy. no sooner had the dumpster made contact then all the energy left it causeing it to drop right infront of him. then he heard a voice. "so your the new guy?" eric looked around and found he was talking to 3 boys. the boy who had spoke was of medium biuld. he wore gloves, and had brown hair (avalanch). the boy next to his was by far the biggest boy eric had ever seen (blob). the next to him had white hair and a wirey build(quiksilver). eric nodded. "yeah I'm new. can I help you?" the boy with brown hair spoke. "yeah my name is avalanch, next to me is blob, and next to him is quiksilver, and we want to fight you."

eric rasied an eyebrow. "and why would you want to do that?" avalanch took a step forward. "Magneto says your this super powerful mutant and we dont think that is true." eric put his hands up in a defensive maner. "so let me get this straight, you know I'm a mutant, you know that I'm a class 5 and yet you stll want to fight me. wow you 3 must be really tough or really dumb." scott put his hand on eric's shoulder, but eric shook it away. "no scott, if they want to fight a god let them find out how it feels." eric wne tinto a fighting stance and motioned for the brother hood to start. avalanch made the first move. the wals of the ally-way began to shake and vibrate with energy. eric almost lost his foot but then saw his savor. the dumpster that had hit him. he grabbed the edge of it and with as much energy as he could hurled it straight at avalanch. the dumpster hit his in the side of the chest knocking him out and sending him flying into the wall. blob charged him and he was forced to jump out of the way. land with his back against the wall he weighed his options. he could fight the blob head on, or he could try something else. he had a lot of stored energy but he did not know how much of it he would have to use to fight the white quikesilver. a noise broke himfrom his thoughts. the blob had changed course and was now headed straight for him and he no time to react.

the blob hit him full force crushing him against the wall. "you fool did you think you could beat the blob?" the seconds tick by then all at once the blob felt something grab him, and lift him off the ground. eric's eyes glowed as he pomped energy into his arms to help lift the mamoth that was the blob. eric was running low on energy so with one motion he threw the blob against the ground and drained as much extra energy as he could, from him. that only left quikesilver, eric turned to him and waited. Pietro gave him a slight nodd, before he vanished. eric looked slightly surprised. _'why would he make it seem like he was super pow-' _eric's thoughts were cut off as he felt a punch conect with his left should. eric was thrown from were he was standing and laned about 3 feet on his back. "so your a speed demon. I never cold have thought of that. but 2 can play at that game." no sooner had the words left his moth then he vanished too. Pietro dropped out of his speed ability. "were did you go?" then all at once eric's voise seemed to speak from every corner of the alley.

"you fool. did you think I was just strong? quess again, I can be a god if I want and there is nothing you people can do about it." eric simply seemed to appear out of nowere, running straight for Pietro. Pietro had no time to react and felt eric's rapid punches conect with his chest, face, and legs. Pietro stumbled backwards and fell to his knees. eric stood infront of him. "not bad not bad." eric was so focused on Pietro that he never saw avalanches attack until it was to late. eric felt his bones shatter as his bone exploded in his body. a few seconds after his bones exploded he felt his body begin to regenerate, but not in the normal sence. he muscles tightened forcing his bones to touch, then small pulces of energy shot through the shards welding them back together, in less then 3 minutes eric was back on his feet. the others had joined in now. cyclops was fighting Pietro, jean and rouge were fighting the blob, and avalanch was being taken care of by nightcrawler and spyke.

eric rolled his neck and felt the newly mended bones pop, and crack. _'I'll have to be sure to heal them when I get back to the mansion. but for now...' _eric chraged forward at the closest brother hood mutant, avalanch. lance saw eric hading for him and forced more vibrations through his body. but eric was ready for it, absorbing field in place he simply absorbed the negery from the attack. eric shot lighting out of his hands and straigh for avalanch. the attack hit him dead on, throwing him from his feet and slamming him into the brick wall behind him. eric turned to the blob, who had his back turned to him. eric pushed energy into his eyes and felt them begin to burn, eric grinned and released the field holding the energy in his eyes. energy blasted from his eyes, and hit the blob in the back. the blob flew forward and hit the wall. the blast of energy continued to hit him, until eric told it to to hold. eric turned to Pietro and just caught a glimps of hi beforew he vanished again. but this time eric was ready for him. eric closed his eyes and channeled energy into his eyes, ears, and skin, bumping his senses up to super-human levels.

eric grinned and spoke. "super speed, not a bad power but it had one major drawback if your fighting me. the law of kenetic energy states that an object in motion will stay in motion, unless stoppedf by an outside force, like me. by putting energy into my body I can sence any form of energy around me, and right now your the biggest form of energy around me, and that means I can see you no matter were you are." eric opened his eyes and let the energy fly from them to a space about 15 feet to his left. Pietro let out a grunt of pain as what felt like atruck slammed into his chest. the attack threw him from his feet and threw him into the dumpster from earlier, laeving a larg dent in it. eric straightened up and instantly relized how ow on energy he was eric tunred to the others. "I have to leave I'm almost out of energy see ou back at the mansion." eric looked towards the sky and focussed, all of his remaining power into his body. skin, muscles, and any internal organs (eyes, blood vessels, brain) instantly insinerated as his body changed from flesh and blood to pure energy. eric shot straight upwards and towards the mansion. in less then 2 minutes he was flying through the open window of his and kurt's room. as eric paased by his nightstand he saw how bandly he was hurt. his skin was cracked in several places and blood was slowly dripping from his ear, and the corner of his eyes.

eric made his way over to his dresser and began to dig around in it until he found what he was looking for. eric pulled a small shot about 5 inches long from the dress, pulled off the cap and pushed the neddle into his neck. a split second later he felt the burn, that signaled it was working kick in. artifical calcium was now flowing through his veins and soon after forcing its way to his bones. coating them in a hard shell. over the net few hours the calsium-alloy would melt and cool almost a dozen times and ment his bones untill they were healed enough to finish the process on their own. eric grunted and lay down on his bed. it would be about 4 hours until the burning stopped, and then it would become a throbing feeling in everyone of his joints and bones. after that it would change to a feeling of coldness as it made its way deeper into the cracks in his bones. eric's vission began to blur as he felt the lose of how much energy he had used during the fight. eric ran a small energy spike through his hair, causing them to stand on end, allow him to absorb more heat and light energy from his surroundings. with that done eric closed his eyes and allowed exhastion to over take him.

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A:N) well there is chapter 2 I hope you liked it. It was really fun to write. in the next few chapters more will be revieled about eric's power and you get to meet, bio a mutant who helps eric study his own power. please review this chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

_Eric made his way over to his dresser and began to dig around in it until he found what he was looking for. Eric pulled a small shot about 5 inches long from the dress, pulled off the cap and pushed the neddle into his neck. a split second later he felt the burn, that signaled it was working kick in. artifical calcium was now flowing through his veins and soon after forcing its way to his bones. coating them in a hard shell. over the net few hours the calsium-alloy would melt and cool almost a dozen times and ment his bones until they were healed enough to finish the process on their own. Eric grunted and lay down on his bed. it would be about 4 hours until the burning stopped, and then it would become a throbing feeling in everyone of his joints and bones. after that it would change to a feeling of coldness as it made its way deeper into the cracks in his bones. Eric's vission began to blur as he felt the lose of how much energy he had used during the fight. Eric ran a small energy spike through his hair, causing them to stand on end, allow him to absorb more heat and light energy from his surroundings. with that done Eric closed his eyes and allowed exhastion to over take him._

**CHAPTER 3**

Eric woke with a start and glanced at the clock on his nightstand, it read 8:56 P.M he had been asleep for over 6 hours. Eric sat up and instantly wished he had not done so. his head felt like it was being torn in half. Eric glanced at his refletion in the mirror. his skin was no longer cracked but he could still feel his bones shifting and reconfiguring themselfs. Eric stood up and shakely walked to his dress, and gave himself another shot of calcium-alloy. Eric pocketed the shot and walked ut of his room. the sun was setting and he could tell he had missed most of the afternoon. Eric made his way down to kitchen to fix himself some dinner. he did not mind that he would probably be eating alone. he was used to it. back at his old high school he almost always ate alone. the only change in that schedual was when he went in for a 'check up' and he ate with Bio. as Eric entered the kitchen he found that he was not alone. logan, was leanning against the counter reading the news paper. as Eric walked in he looked up and set the paper down. "I hear you had a little run in with the brother hood?" Eric walked by him and nodded. "yeah nothing I could not handle."

logan grinned. "from what the others have told me, avalanch broke every bone in your body. how can you still stand?" Eric shrugged and pulled out a sandwitch from the frig. as Eric set the plate down he tossed logan the empty shot. "camcium-alloy. exo-gen makes them. they help with the healling process by encasing my bones in a shell of calcium. I must say though I did not expect to have to use so much of it. no one has ever broke so many bones before." logan nodded and turned the shot around in his hand. "you no the others could have helped you." Eric shook his head. "no. I work alone, unless I have to. I've got nothing against them I just work alone. you of all people should understand that." logan growled slightly. "how do you know." Eric shrugged. "at exo-gen they have a list of files on mutants of interest. your one of them. they are interested in how you survived the graphng of metal onto your bones. from their simulattions you should have died." loagn shrugged. "I got lucky I guess." Eric nodded and began to eat. "luck, is a lovely thing to have on your side." logan nodded and for a while there was silence, between them. after several long moments logan spoke. "you know the professor got a call from exo-gen today. they wanted to set up an apointment for tomorrow. the professor wants to come with you. he want to now what your capable of."

Eric nodded and shrugged. "fine. I have no problem with any of that." Eric put his plate in the dish washer and let the room, witha wave over his shoulder. truth be told he did not care much about the professor coming to his check up. he did mind however that he had not asked to come, but then again he was Eric's gaurdian now he really did not have to ask. Eric shook he head and headed back to his and urt's room. as he neared the door he bagn to hear the voices of the other. Eric put his back to the wall and listened to what was being said. Eric let out a grunt of frustrtion. he could not hear much and what he could hear was jiberish. Eric looked around for something that coud help him. his eyes fell on a light next to the door. Eric grinned and unscrewwed the bulp. Eric focused and then stuck his finger into the light socket. in a flash Eric changed from flesh and blood to energy. shooting through the wiring in his room he paused and pushed his way out of the empty power pluggin, by his bed. by just peeking out he coud see and hear what was happening in the room.

scott was pacing the length of the room. sitting on the beds were Kurt, kitty, and rouge. jean was leaning on the wall and spyke was sitting on the floor. scott spoke. "spyke I don't think you are getting what I'm saying. the brother hood was throwing everything thety had at him and he just shrugged it off like it was nothing." Kurt stood up and spoke. "dude, you need to lighten up. no one got hurt and from what we saw we have a new allie to help fight them. what are you complaining for?" scott shook his head. "you guys don't get it. Eric is dangerous. we need to keep an eye on him." jean spoke from the corner. "look scott, Eric is not like us, sure he has more power then us but he does not seem to want to fight us. I agree we should keep an eye on him but there is no need for an all out investigation. we all have dark secrets in our past that we don't want found out. I'm sure Eric is the same way." Eric had heard enough. with a flash of light Eric lept out of the socket and changed from energy back to flesh and blood. "you know summers you should be carfull who you talk about, in their own room." cott whipped around and found himself an inch from Eric's face.

Eric spoke again with the same cold tone he had used before. "despite what you all may think, I did not come here to join the X-men. I came here becasue I had hoped I could get away from the prejudice I've gotten all my life. funny, I escaped it for 2 days. you know scott the power I have may be class 5 but I'm still human. pardon me I must speak with the professor." with that Eric left the room and made his way to the lbrary were the professor was. Xavier looked up from his book as he heard someone enter the library. Eric sat dwon infront of the prfessor and looked ta him. Xavier closed his book and spoke. "Eric I sense you are upset. what is wrong?" Eric shrugged. "Oh not much you just the normal getting attack durring the day, and at night finding out your own frineds don't trust you. the usual for me. I'm here because I wold like a different room to stay in." Xavier nodded. "yes, alright. there is a room at the end of C hall you can take that one." Eric nodded. "thank you." with that he left and walked to his new room. the room was large, with big windows and high ceilings. Eric grinned this would be perect for him.

Eric had just satten down on the bed when he heard someone knock at the door. "it's open." Eric heard the door open and saw that it was Kurt. Eric turned red slightly looked out of the window. Kurt spoke. "I've never seen anyone talk like that to scott before. you should have seen him after you left. look, I know you must be mad at me right now but you have to undesatnd. out of all of us scott is the strongest and yet he could never do what you did in that alley. he is afraid he will lose his place as team leader." Eric nodded and spoke. "you know Kurt. "I'm not mad at any of you. I can understand why you did what you did. what hurts me is that none of you came to talk to me about it. I've been kept in the dark for most of my life. up until a few years ago I did not even know how my powers worked." Kurt sat dwon on the bed next to Eric. Eric glanced at him and found that he was wearing his hologram.

Kurt looked out of the windows and then spoke. "you know we all live our lives afraid that we wont be able to beat the next mutant we fight. yet every time we do fight we win. I guess we all got it into our heads that there was no one stronger then us. so when you whiped the floor with the brother hood we got scared, of you. your powers are incredable, you beat those 3 like they were nothing. I guess we are all afraid of what might happen if you were to turn against us." Eric shrugged and spoke. "Kurt I may not be a member of your Xmen but know this. I make a promise to you and to all mutants I will never join mystique or her cause. I want to help mutants not harm them. it's when they force me to that I hurt them. I've never like violence but I live a very violent life and I will do what must be done to ensure that I survive." Kurt nodded. "hey man look I feel the same way." Kurt stood up and walked over to the door, and opened it. "you know your not alone in this world. you do have friends that care about you. I hope that you can count me as one of those people." with that Kurt left and closed the door behind him on his way out.

Eric stood up and climbed onto the window ledge. for the second time in a day, his skin, muscles, and remaining internal organs were insinerated as his body changed. Eric blasted away from the mansion and into the night sky. Eric landed on the roof top of the mansion. truth be told he did count Kurt as one of his friends, but that is were things got coplicated. "in the 2 days he had stayed at the mansion he had found himself getting very close to Kurt. that is what scared him. the last time he alwoed himself to get close to someone. they had been murdered. if he found out that Kurt was hurt or worse he would never be able to forgive himself, he had hardly gotten over john's murder. now he was falling for someone else, someone he hadly knew. that is what made him feel so strange around him. he hadrly knew Kurt, and yet he made him feel like he was 10 years old and he had a school yard chrush again. Eric sighed and sat dwon. yes it was frustrating, yes it scared him, but he would not have traded it for a the world. he liked this feeling it made him feel alive again. it made him feel like john was back and they were together again. from what he knew of Kurt he was not gay but then again john had said the same thing.

Eric smiled half heartedly. yes Kurt was cute, and yes he would like to be closer to him but... Eric shook his head. no he could settle for being Kurt's friend, for now. if the chance showed itself he would try to become more but for now he could just be his friend. even Eric stood up he felt happier. Eric climbed down the wall of the mansion and jumped back into his room. curling up in his room he fell into a deep sleep.

**Eric'S DREAM**

he was chaseing someone. he could not tell who but he knew something good would happen if he caught them. Eric flew past a tree and it was only then that he relized he was in a forest. Eric put more energy into his legs and sped up in an atempt to catch who ever it was he was chasing. Eric burstfrom the forest into a field. he could just make out the back of the person he was chasing. through the field he ran until he was an arms length away from the person. a blue tail flicked just out of his grasp. Eric smiled and laughed slightly. it was a friendly chase no harm, no enemy, just 2 friends chasing each other. Eric took a leap and tackled the person from the back. they rolled end over end until they came to a stop just under a tree. it was only then that Eric made the conection between the blue tail and the person he was chasing, Kurt. Kurt lay grinning ontop of him. for what seemed like forever they just lay they looking into eahothers eyes.. then Eric moved. he put his hand behind Kurts head and pulled him into a kiss. he expected Kurt to vanish, or to try to get away. the last thing he remembered of the dream was Kurt kissing him back.

**REAL LIFE**

Eric sat bolt upright in his bed. for a moment he just sat there taking in what he had just felt, and drempt. Eric shakely got out of bed and made his way to the bethroom. turning on the sink Eric splashed his face with warm water, and looked at himself in the mirror. that dream had shaken him, more the he had thought. Eric leaned against one the the walls and slowly slid himself down it until he was sitting on the floor. the dream had been so real so vivid. not that vivid dreams were new to him. it was a side effect of his powers. the portion of his brain responsable for dreams was stronger then most so his dreams were much more vivid. shaking his head Eric stood up. no, he would not let this dream bother him. this was normal for his age, he would just have to act like it had not happened. with that thought in his head Eric went back to bed, were he was no longer bothered by dreams about him and Kurt.

Eric woke the next day feeling rested and relaxed. he was about to get ready for school when he remembered that he had an apointment at exo-gen that day. Eric took the time he would normaly take to get dressed, by checking up and his email. Eric had just closed down his internet when he heard a knock on his door. "come in." Eric heard the door open and found that he was looking at Storm. Eric stood up and followed Storm until he found himself standing in the garage. Xavier spoke. "Storm and I will follow you in the van. do us a favor, don't drive like you did with Storm." Eric nodded, and started his bike. in about an hour Eric was pulling up infront of the exo-gen building. Eric turned and saw the Xavier and Storm were just pulling up behind him. he grinned and laughed. "cool, you guys caught up. I thought I'd lost you back there."strom chuckled. "you did." Eric nodded and walked into the building. as they entered the Eric felt the familiar pulse that was the building's ark reactor. the divice was about the size of a car but it produced about as much energy as his heart.

Eric pushed open the doors to the lab and heard someone call his name. Eric turned and had no time to react before his good friend Bio tackled him to the floor. Eric had to throw Bio off of himself, and leap to his feet. Eric stood up and felt someone put their hand on his shoulder. Eric looked over his shoulder and found that he was looking at his good frined Jason. Xavier had by now reached them and was greeting Bio. Jason looked at the little group Eric had brought with him and similed. "been friendly lately?" Eric rolled his eyes and spoke. "can we just get this done? I'm missing school." Jason nodded and they began their normal routine of checks. as Eric went through them Xavier and Storm began to talk with Bio and Jason. "so what is it thast you do here for Eric?" Bio nodded and spoke. "good question. well the best way to desribe waht we do is simple. we help Eric to learn more about the nature of his power. belive it or not we actually don't know much about Eric."

Jason paused to speak to Eric and Bio took over. "what we do know is that the only organs eris has left are his eyes, and brain. we harly know how he is still alive. his heart seems to be providing the energy needed to run his body but we don't know mcuh past that. mostly we focus on Eric's brain whe he uses. for instance when Eric puts energy into his arms, he forces the muscles to go into an overdrive action, wich allows him to lift heavy objects. however this action is not completly normal for his body and it causes him a slight amount of pain, every time he uses. mostly we look at the damge in an attempt to understand the way his energy works. beleive it or not there are many different forms of energy beond what we humans know of. for instance, sticky energy, is energy that pulles electrons from other forms of energy. that being said sticky energy alows Eric to stick to things. mainly walls, and ceilings." Xavier raised an eyebrow. "just what is Eric capable of?" Jason looked at Eric through a small slate of glass. "here I'll show you. Eric strip we are going to run a Bio gell scan."

Eric nodded and went into a small room were he changed into swim trunks. once he was done we walked through another door, on the other wall and into a well lit room. standing in the middle of the room Eric felt the Bio genetic paralisis gel begin to be pumped into the room. as the gell began to collect on his skin he could feel its effect taking place, paralisis. up in the observation both Bio and Jason turned to Xavier and Storm. "this gel is designed to stop Eric's powers from absorbing any form of energy. in Eric's isolated state we can safely examin Eric's energy and figure out how he is still alive." as the gel covered his body Eric could feel it pulling on his energy trying to eat it like his sybote did. however unlike his symbote the gel would not surevive, direct exposure to his energy. Bio turned to Jason, and spoke. "the gel has completly covered him we can now take our readings." Jason nodded and began to work with his computer. Storm spoke. "I still don't see how taking readings of Eric's power will help him." Bio nodded. "that is understandable, picture it like this. if Eric were an electrical socket we have to measure the amount of energy he puts out other wise he could hurt himself. you Eric powers are unique not only in the fact that not only are they very strong but they are also still evolving and forming. when we first started working with Eric he cound control the energy in a car battery. now he could drain our ark-reactor dry if he wanted to and he would still have room for more power. we have come to understand that Eric's power natural doubles in strength about once every year. Eric's body has 3 natural forms. form 1 is the form you see before you. in this form Eric uses anywere from 1 to 5 of the power he absorbs. form 2 uses about 6 to 20 of his power, for this reson we call it his combat for. form 3 uses 21 to 100 of the power he absobs. this form is know as Eric's god form."

Xavier nodded and spoke. "I get it if he is putting out less energy then he should it could be a sign that he is sick." Jason nodded and spoke while still working with the computer. "yes, but it could also show that Eric is not abasorbing energy. if that were the case we would have to force energy into his body. Eric's heart is a nuclear reaction, the only thing containing that reaction is the energy Eric absorbs. if he stops the barrier falls and Eric would litteraly explod. and probably kill us all. this gell is unique in the fact that it absorbs any form of energy it come into contact with. in essense a second Eric." Jason paused to look a string pf data, as it slid across the screen. jasdon grinned as the reading flashed by. "hey Bio it looks like Eric's got himself a little crush." Xavier looked at them. "how can you tell that Eric has a crush from just looking at a few numbers?" Bio straightend up and spoke in a 'matter of fact' tone. Eric's emotions and feeling have an effect on his powers. for instance if he is upset his powers will by low level frequence, if he is happy his energy will be about mid level. right now his energy levels are just slightly above happy, witch logicaly means he has a crush. not only that but it matches a previous reading we got about 2 years ago when Eric had a crush on someone." Jason straightened up and clapped his hand into the mircophone. the gell simply slid off of Eric leaving his frozen in place for a split second before laughing. "what? it tickles."

with in the next 20 minutes Eric was dressed again and heading for the door of the building. as he neared the doors he beagn to feel 2 familiar energy sigs. Eric bristeled as the sourses of the sigs came into view. a man about 30 in age with brown hair and eyes walked past him. next to him a woman also 30 years old, with blonde hair and green eyes. as they walked by Eric felt a pulse of anger run through his body. as they entered the brightly lit world Xavier spoke. "who were those 2 people back there?" Eric sighed and then looked him. "those were my parents. they work here." with that Eric climbed onto his bike started the engine and sped off. Xavier and Storm sat there stunnned, and after a while drove back to the mansion.

**KURT'S POV**

Kurt was having a very strang day. for the first portion of the day he had not seen Eric at all. he had called the mansion and found out from logan that Eric, the professor, and Storm were going to exo-gen, so Eric could get his check up. Kurt had taken that in stride thinking Eric would be there by gym class. it was now the last period before school was out and Eric still had not shown up and Kurt was getting worried. as the bell rang signalling the end of the school day Kurt made a straight line for his locker and then to the bathroom. once he was safly locked in the stall he teleported himself right infront of eric's room at the mansion. kurt knocked and listened for any sign of life from inside. so when he heard a small "come in" he did not hesitate to do so. eric was laying on his bed lokking up at a plasma screen he had pulled up to watch the evening news. "were have you been? you completly missed school today." eric shrugged and spoke. "I had a check up, then I had to go to the post office and send out letters saying I had moved. after that i went to the mall and bought some new cloths, and after then i came back her and started thinking." kurt shook his head and leaned against the wall. "look, just dont do it again. you had everyone worried, espeasaly after what happened lastnight with cyclops and you. you had everyone thinking you had left and joined the brotherhood." eric snorted and sat up on his shoulders. "and just why would you worry about little ol me?" "kurt shrugged. "your my friend and I care about my friends. just thought I would check." kurt was about to leave when he stopped and turned around. "here is the work you missed by the way." kurt tossed eric a texbook with the work inisde and left.

as kurt walked to his room he began to think. why had he been so worried about eric. they were friends after all, but he had een very scared of the thought of eric joining the brotherhood. as kurt opened the door to his room he could hear a little voice in his head. _'you were worried because you saw what he could do. back in the alley remember he whiped the floor with the brotherhood.'_ yes eric had whiped the floor with them but he had not done it out of anger at least not at first. when kurt thought back to that moment he did not see someone who was angery. he saw someone who had their back to a wall and had been forced to fight. eric knew how to fight he had made that very clear with how he had handled the brotherhood mutants. he had not shown any hesitation in a way eric had reminded kurt a lot of logan when he was angry. kurt shook his head. no eric was not like logan he was not violent, and from what he had seen he was not violent. kurt lay down on his bed and looked up at the ceilling. for some reson one thought kept showing itself in his mind. why did he care so much about eric. they had not known eachother long. less then a week in fact. not only that but they hardly knew each other, and they had hardly talked to each other. infact kurt could harly call himself eric's friend. kurt shook his head. no he was eric's friend he was just thinking to much about this. kurt, sighed stood up and walked out of his room on his way down to the kitchen for dinner.

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A:N) well folks their is chapter 3. I hope you all liked it. the next few chapter their will be a bit more between kurt and eric so be ready for that. **please review** bye.


	4. Chapter 4

_as kurt walked to his room he began to think. why had he been so worried about Eric. they were friends after all, but he had een very scared of the thought of Eric joining the brotherhood. as kurt opened the door to his room he could hear a little voice in his head. 'you were worried because you saw what he could do. back in the alley remember he whiped the floor with the brotherhood.' yes Eric had whiped the floor with them but he had not done it out of anger at least not at first. when kurt thought back to that moment he did not see someone who was angery. he saw someone who had their back to a wall and had been forced to fight. Eric knew how to fight he had made that very clear with how he had handled the brotherhood mutants. he had not shown any hesitation in a way Eric had reminded kurt a lot of logan when he was angry. kurt shook his head. no Eric was not like logan he was not violent, and from what he had seen he was not violent. kurt lay down on his bed and looked up at the ceilling. for some reson one thought kept showing itself in his mind. why did he care so much about Eric. they had not known eachother long. less then a week in fact. not only that but they hardly knew each other, and they had hardly talked to each other. infact kurt could harly call himself Eric's friend. kurt shook his head. no he was Eric's friend he was just thinking to much about this. kurt, sighed stood up and walked out of his room on his way down to the kitchen for dinner._

**CHAPTER 4**

the next day Eric woke with a good feeling running through his body. he felt happy. Eric took a shower got dressed and jogged the hole way to school. he said "hello" to toad and had fun silently looking ast kurt while changing. it was not untill hey walking home with the rest that trouble began to happen. he had just laughed at a jock kitty had told when he stopped. a high power magnettic field had just entered his energy vission. Eric hardly had time to shout at the other to run before he was lifted off the ground by the metal ring, and neckless he wore. Eric found himself pushed hard against the wall, next to him the others tried desperatly to free themselfs of all metal. Eric sighed and focused his energy into his energy sight, in the atempt to locate the source of the magnetic field. it did not take long for him to find the source. the fact that the man creating it flouted down from the sky was a bit of a give away. the man smiled and spoke. "so your Eric Tooms. I must admit I would have thought you would be older." Eric sighed, he already did not like this man. "so your Magneto. you are shorter then I thought you would be." Magneto stiffed and then spoke."you know it is not smart to insult the man who has you at his mercy."

Eric laughed. "you think I'm at _your_ mercy? sir you have more to worry about from me then I do from you. for example." eric focused on the area around a large metal slab leanning against the wall of the alley. with a simple jerk of his head the slab was lifted into the air and thrown at the man. Magneto laughed and repulesed the metal slab. "you should know better then to used metal against the master of magnetism. you should study your opponent's power before you attack." eric laughed too, the fool had not seen his plan. "I could say the same for you. North." no sooner had the words left his mouth then he simply slid down the wall to the ground. Magneto's head jerk. "I did not release you." eric grinned. "no you did not but when 2 magnetic fields of the same polarity come into contact they negate each other. so now I can disrupt any of your attacks. you should have done your research. magnetic fields are still energy."

Magneto chuckled. the boy was resourcefull, intellegent, and quike thinking, just what he was looking for. "you should take your rightfull place with the super powerfull. you should not have to play by the rules set by xavier." ric sighed so this man was like mystique. "mister there is no way that I will turn against my friends and family. anyone who tries to force me to will get hurt. that is a promise." Magneto smirked and spoke, "you really should reconsider." as he spoke he mentaly commanded the slab of metal to hit eric face on. eric sighed as he felt Magneto focus his power. he just did not understand that he was out of Magneto's league. eric snapped his finger. the sound was instanly multiplied by his power. the soundwaves tore through the sheet of metal warping it and bending it, into an unrecognizable form. as the waves traveled farther he could hear the sound of glass shattering. eric smirked back at Magneto. "do you really think your power is enough to fight me? I can negate all of your attacks, and turn them against you." eric grinned and snapped his fingers again. but this time instead of a wide range attack the sound waves shot dirrectly for Magneto. he hardly had any time to react when the attack hit him directly in the chest.

magneto was thrown from the air and landed in a small heap, infront eric. eric sighed and began to slowly walk over to him. "listen to me. you may be tough I can feel that you are a class 4 mutant. but you are out powered. you can not hopwe to beat me. you can no-" eric was cut of from his speech as he fell to his knees. a strange feeling was spreading through his chest. in an instant eric knew what it was, the thin layer of energy around his heart was being disrupted. eric cursed his stupidity, he should have known better, then to get close to a magnetic. the natural field that magneto put out was disrupting his heart's containment field. eric could not get close to him without risking loosing control of his heart. "magneto I'm not going to fight you. mainly due to the reason that if I get any closer not only will I die but so will you and my new friends. so I'm going to leave you with a little gift." eric focues his powers on the area around magneto's body, creating an invisable force field. magneto was lifted into the air and thrown into the sky. eric sighed as he felt his containment field begin to stableize. a few seconds later his friends dropped to the ground as the magnetic field holding them there disappeared.

cyclops spoke first. "what did you mean you could not get closer to him?" eric sighed, he had thought that would have been obvious. "magnetic fields disrupt energy fields. it's like when you put a magnet near a computer, it destroys the electrical impulses inside of it. If I got close enogh to him, I would risk dirupting the field that contains my heart. if that field were to disappear, I would probably explode, and take the entire city, with me. All anyone would have to do is look for the mushroom clouds. that is why I have to absorb enrergy, so I can mantain the field and still use my powers when I want to. speaking of wich." eric broke off and walked over to a large junction box for a building. eric ripped off the metal lid of the box and grabbed the cables inside. energy began to course through his entire body. it started with his hands, then spread outwards until his whole body was covered in an electrical tingel like feeling. eric let go of the cables and smiled. "there all nice and recharged. shall we?" eric turned and continued his way back to the mansion as though nothing had happened, everyone followed shortly after.after eir cfinshed his homework he found himself walking around the grounds, thinking. he really was getting tired of all this. not the mansion or his new friends. he would never get tired of that. no he was getting tired of people trying to use him as a weapon.

eric sighed and sat down on a low wall. he could not help but grin slightly. he had gotten one of his most powerful weapons from people like magneto thoug. he had not been immune to physics at first. that had been the last power to form. it had been triggered when a group of physics had kidnapped him and tried to read his mind for their own uses. after several weeks of 'interegation' he had found that physic energy was not that different from any other form. while he could not absorb it he found that he could negate it. through this methode of sheilding his mind he had escaped and destroyed the compund that they had held him captive in. eric grinned at the memory. it was vivid, in his mind. he could remember every turn every twist in the hallways he had taken. not only that but he could still hear the sounds of the physici's voices as he had torn the energy from their bodies. he had felt that was a just way for them to go. it was quick and painless. they simple stopped living.

eric sighed and began to collect the ambant energy around him. after several minutes of this he took the energy he had absorbed and put it into his brain. thoughts began to form, hundreds of them all at once. if he had not been trained to calm his mind he probably would have blacked out. that is what had happened the first time he had done that. since the he had learned to examine each thought at a time and then decide on what to do. the hard part was he could not control the kind of thought sin his head. half of them seemed to be meanningless and the other half were just down right dangerous. as he thought he found him mind wandering to todd. he was the first frined he had made at bayview high school, and was really fun to hang out around. however there was just one little problem. todd was a memeber of the brotherhood. that did not really bother eric much. what bothered him was the way they treated him. even though they claimed to be his friends they still hurt him. about the only true friend in there was blob. eric sighed, and stood up.

he would have to do something about todd if he was going to be his friend. he would not force him to choose between himself or the brotherhood. NO, that could cause more damage then good, but he could help. eric slowly began to walk to the library were he could feel the professor reading. as eric entered xavier looked up and him and then put his book down. "I hear you had a run in with my old friend." eric nodded and sat down. "yes but I'm not here to talk about that. toad, what is your impression of him?" xavier thought for a moment and then spoke. "I know that he is a cunning young man looking for acceptance. it seems he has found that in the brotherhood. Why do you ask?" eric sighed. "I would like it if he joined us. for the past few weeks I've been his friend. I'm disturbed by what I've seen. from what I have seen and guessed he is not treated very well by the brotherhood. I would like him to be allowed to stay here." xavier raised an eyebrow. "why would you want that. As I understand he is a memeber of the brotherhood, and they want you on their side." eric nodded and put his fingers together.

"I do not think toad will say no. I think he would be more happy on our side then with the brotherhood. I have managed to become his friend. I have found that he is loyal and kind. I can tell that after meeting me he has begun to question why he stays with the brotherhood. If push comes to shove I will back off and will not pursue this matter any more but if I can I would like to offer a sign friendship, from us. I will not force him to choose but I will give him the option to join, us. do I have your support?" xavier closed his eyes and thought. toad would be a valuable allie, on the other hand it could all be a trick on toad's part. "I do not see a problem with inviting him to join, but know this. if he does anything to hurt my students I will hold you personaly responsable." eric nodded and smiled. "thank you professor." eric stood up and left, as he walked out of the Library he passed logan.

**XAVIER'S POV**

logan spoke after eric had closed the door. "what did he want?" xavier smiled. "he wanted to know if he could invite toad to join us." logan raised an eyebrow. "why would he want to do that?" avier shrugged. "it would seem they are friends. he wants toad to have the same chances he himself is getting." loagn walked over to a larg window and looked out. he could just make out eric and his cycle leaving the grounds. "why do you trust him? what has he done to earn it?" xavier sighed. he knew logan was strong, smart and right now just down right stupid. "I may not beable to read his mind but I can see faint glimpses of his thoughts. imagine an ocean if you will. I may not beable to see under it from the top, but when a bubble pops up from the bottom, for the split second I can see what he is thinking. because he is so powerful he seems to think it is his job to help and protect as many mutants as he can. in a way he and I are not so different." logan nodded. "yeah but still. what makes you think he can be trusted?"

xavier sighed. "a better question is why do you distrust him?" logan chuckled. "the second day he was here we went for a jog. we were jumped by some punk kids, trying to steal money. he knew how to fight, _really_ _well_. I know he has been attacked before but... from what I saw he has more trainning in fighting. I know anyone can sign up to learn how to fight but, the way he knew how to fight. It reminded me of sabertooth." xavier sighed. "logan the boy is not Weapon X. he was not sent here by the government." logan sighed. "yeah I know he is not Weapon X. I still think we should keep an eye on him. if there is one thing I have learned it is that people who have power will stop at nothing to get more or keep the power they have. I have nothing against eric but for the safty of the other students we should do some digging into his background." xavier sighed and nodded "although I do not like it I do agree with you."

**KURT'S POV**

kurt cas curently lounging around in the living room with, jean, spyke, and kitty. he had just put his textbook down when scott entered. "has anyone seen eric? he is not in his room, or in the garage." kurt shook his head, and so did the others. "good I need to talk to you guys. did any of you notice anything stragne about his fight with magneto?" everyone shook their heads. "really, nothing?" kurt shrugged. "no should we have seen something?" scott sighed. "yes. the fact that it was over in about 3 seconds for one. but then their was the way that acted around each other. they acted like they knew each other from somewere. jean do you think you can find him?" jean nodded and closed her eyes for a moment. "he is at the school, but he is not alone. he is with... toad." scott punched his hand into his palm. "so he is a spy for them I knew it." kurt had heard enough, he stood up and faced scott.

"dude!what do you have against him? what has he done to warrent this treatment?" sott sighed. "none of you think it is strange that a class 5 mutant happens to have a family that wants nothing to do with him? not only that but he is rich, and has government run scientists at his call. and now he is meeting with a known brotherhood memeber. I'm sorry but there is writing on the wall and noone is readding it." kurt sighed and his tail flicked angrely behind him. "scott think about it man, his parents worked for the government. you heard him they were genetic scientists. it would be only natural that he would know some scientists. as to him being rich, is that a crime now! I'll admit the whole thing about his family disowning him is a little strange and I would like to know why but, I'm not going to think he is a spy." scott began to get angry. "why are you defending him?!" kurt was about ready to hit him. "why are you so obsessed? why do you think he is a spy? from what I've heard around school he and toad hang out almost every day during lunch. not only that but if he was a spy dont you think he would have killed us already." scott opened his mouth but kurt cut through him.

"think about it. we have all seen what he can do and if what the professor and logan have said what we saw was nothing compaired to what he can do. now if magneto had wanted to do us harm using eric, why not just set him loose on the mansion? why not have him simply turn of our brain? eric is not a spy. I think you are afraid that he is more powerful then you and because of that you are trying to discredit him." kurt stopped to take a breath and then plunged on. "this must be hard for you. you are so used to being the most powerful on campus and now someone else has more power then you." kurt was about to say more when someone cleared their throut from the doorway. everyone looked around to find xavier sitting there. "what is with all the yelling?" kurt spoke first, before scott could. "scott here thinks that eric is a spy for the brotherhood." xavier sighed. he sometimes had to remind himself that his students could not read minds like he could.

"scott do you know what eric was think when he fought magneto, and the brotherhood?" scott shook his head. "he was thinking about how he could stop them from hurting all of you. eric has what we call a savior complex. it is a state of mind were he beleives it is his duty in life is to protect and help mutants." xavier paused to look around the room. "scott you and he had a lot to get passed. however he was like you at one time in his life. from what I have learned from his journal at first he could not control his powers at all. for over a year he could not touch any human out of fear of killing them. it was not until he tried to cure himself that he gained control over his gift. I have no idea how it helped but it did. Now I'm asking you as your teacher please drop this idea that he is a spy." scott sighed and nodded. "ok professor." xavier smiled, and left the room. kurt smiled to himself and left as well. he had gotten an idea from the professor's speech. a little while later kurt found himself online and on google. carfully he typed in the words, 'mutant gene cure'.

a few seconds later an artical popped up. it was a documentation of a lab in japan, that had claimed to have made a cure for mutants. in the artical it stated that if given to a lesser mutant it would supress their powers. as it went on it stated that in the hands of a stronger mutant, it would limit their powers. the cure would suprese the mutant's ability to activate the parts of the brain responsable for higher power use. yes that would make sence. if eric's powers had been activating all at once it would have been very powerful. by taking the cure it would have slowed the powers down, and made them appear slower. kurt smiled and closed down the internet. it was a mark of how much he had grown that he did so. when he first came to the mansion he would have been looking for confermation that a cure did exist. but 2 years living at the mansion had taught him to be happy with his mutation, and if he 'cured' himself he would loose them, and also his tail.

**NORMAL POV**

kurt was laying on his bed when he heard someone walk by his room. normaly this did not happen his room was at the end of the hallway. however eric's room was next to his, and kurt needed to talk to him. a few minutes later kurt found himself knocking on eric's door. a few seconds later eric called for him to enter. kurt smiled as he entered eric's room. for some strange reason he felt safe in eric's room. "hey eric. I need to ask you something, personal." eric looked up from his work and nodded. "of course." kurt shifted from one foot to the other. "the professor siad that you tried to cure yourself of your mutation. is that true?" eric sighed and sat down on his bed with a thoughfull look on his face. after a while he spoke. "yes I was 11 at the time and I could not take it anymore. I could not touch people, and my powers triggered on there own. I could not control them as I can now. Now I can focus my power on one thing at a time. before I could not focus on something. it was a very hard time for me. I could hear any and all electrical impulses around me. cell phones, email, or just people thinking. I could 'hear' it all. after I tried to cure my self my powers began to develope at a much slower pace. I could train a certain power at a time rather then just bairly keeping up with them."

eric looked up at kurt and smiled. "wy did you want to know?" kurt smiled back and sat down on the bed too. "well I guess I just wanted to know that I was not alone. whe I first came here I would have done anything to cure myself. now I would not trade my mutation for the world. I might traid my fur though for a better holo-watch." kurt let out a small luagh but eric looked thoughtfull. "I know a bit about electronics would you like me to take a look at it?" kurt nodded and handed the watch to eric. eric looked at it for a moment and then set it down on the bed. he then made his way over to his nightstand and began to dig around in a draw. after a few minutes of looking he found what he was looking for. eric straightened up and sat back down on the chair infront of his workbench. eric set up his tools and then picked up the holo-watch. eric held the watch over a small projecter for a moment while a scanner took measurements and readings. when that was done eric simply let go of the watch. kurt expected the watch to fall but it did not. the watch simply floated there in mid-air. eric grinned at the stunned look on kurt's face.

"anit-gravity generators, John made them for me before he died. he used to show me how to fix things. he even made me a computer that could tell me not only what was wrong with something but, how it could be made better." eric touched a small screen on what looked like a cell phone. a second later a holographic image of the watch sprang into life. by now kurt was right behind eric and watching in facination as eric worked. he had removed the main plate on the watch reveiling the inner workings. eric spoke. "show me what is responsable for keeping the image in place." for a second kurt thought eric was talking to him. so when a part of the hologram began to glow he was greatfull. he did not know much about how his watch worked. eric nodded after looking at the holo. "the image keeps shorting out, how can we fix that?" a few seconds later the holo began to glow. eric nodded to himself and put a pair of what looked like thimbles on his fingers. kurt raised an eyebrow.

"what are those?" eric shrugged. "micro tools. John made them so he could do delecate work." kurt smiled. "you really liked John didn't you?" eric nodded. "yes. he and I were very close. closer then most people can claim. I respected his knowledge of machines and he respected my power over energy." eric smiled as he retracked his tools. "there you go kurt. I made the circuits a little more less complex. see your problem was your watch need to much power, to run everything. so all I did was up to power in the battery and take out some unnessesary parts. I also added something I think you may like." kurt looked at him. "what did you add?" eric grinned. "well I can imagen that a big problem is close quarters with your watch. so I installed a low level force field. now if anyone puts their hand on you they wont feel your fur. however that will only work with low level contact. you wont be able to stop punches or kicks. but if someone bumps into you they wont know the difference." eric paused grinning about the look on kurt's face. it was a questioning look. "you did not understand a word I just said did you?"

kurt shook his head. "I understood it but why did it have to be so long?" eric shrugged, and muttered an apology. kurt smiled and attached the watch back on his wrist. a split second later kurt's human form sprung into view. eric spoke. "kurt do you sleep like that?" kurt looked up. "like what?" "with your holo on." kurt grinned sheepishly. "no not often but sometime." eric nodded, and smiled. "well I'm glad I could help. if you have any more problems let me know." kurt nodded and sat back down on the bed. after a while he spoke. "you know there was a fight about you." eric sighed. "yeah I know. the professor told me, about it." eric paused as he put his tools away. "you know I'm glad you defended me. not many people would do that, for someone they hardly know." kurt shrugged. "dont worry about it. I dont think your dangerous, or a spy." eric smiled back. "thank you kurt." eric sat down on the floor next to his bed.

kurt was silent for a moment and then spoke. "eric why exactly are you here? from what I've been told and you are very well off money wise. why are you were?" eric sighed. "well I may have been well off, but I was very lonely. since John was killed I did not socalize much." eirc paused and looked ut the window. kurt wached him for a while and then spoke. "eric, just what was john's power?" eric grinned. "he could fix anything. his power is similar to your friend Forge's power. for the next few hours kurt and eric just talked, about anything and everything. it was 10:00 P.M. wentkurt nodded and got up. "well i should go to bed. I have a test tomorrow." eric nodded and stood up too. "same here. goodnight." he heard kurt call goodnight to him as he left. for a moment eric just stood there and then he lept into the air with happiness. he lept so high that his head almost touched the ceiling. he had talked with kurt, and nothing strange had happened. he had spent time, alone, ina room with him and had not done anything stupid. he felt so happy. truth be told he had been having doubts about if he and kurt could just be friends but now he was sure of it. he could just be kurt's frined and not be upset by it. eric grinned as he got dressed and got into bed. it really made him happy. with that he rolled over on his side and fell asleep.

**ERIC'S DREAM**

he was running, but he was not chasing someone, no this time he was being chased. but he could tell that it was a friendly chase. he was in a forest being chased by someone he did not know. eric burst from the forest and into a large field. eric kept running not stopping to look at the flowers that populated the the field. as eric nearred the middle of the field he saw a tree loom out from the ground. eric was abut 10 feet from the tree when he felt something hit him in the back. eric tumbled end over end finaly came to a stop just under the tree's limbs. eric found himself looking up into the pale eys of Kurt. for the longest time they just lay there. kurt on top of him looking at each others eyes. the kurt made the first move. gently kurt leaned down and captured eric's lips. eric's eyes rolled into is head. the kiss felt perfect. eric could paracticaly touch the want he was feeling. slowly eric and kurt broke apart and simply looked at each other. kurt made the next move. gently he ran his hand across eric's chest. eric let out a small moan, of pleasure. kurt captured his lips once again, but did not stop at the kiss. eric could feel kurt's hand slowly run under his shirt and across the soft skin of his stomach.

eric woke with a start. for a moment he just lay there and then he swore at the top of his voice. he was supposed to be over this, and yet he was still haveing these dreams. eric got up and made his way to his bathroom, were he went through the noraml rutine. eric sighed. why could he not stop these dreams. eric found himself thinking back to the dream it was not that he did not like thembut, it felt... wrong. it was like cheating on someone. eric shook his head. he had to find a way to stop these dreams as long as they continued he would like kurt as more then friends. it was then that the idea hit him. focusing all his energy into his brain he felt the effect begin to start. certain events could triger reactions in the brain. these reactions were called reflexes. eric had found that he could write his own reflexes and how he reacted. eric grinned and sat down. eric had created a new reflex. now whenever he fell asleep his brain would go into observation mode. it would search for the brain waves that matched his dreams with kurt. if and when it found one that matched it would force him to wake up. eric smiled. he thought he was safe. he thought he was free of these dreams. he thought wrong.

then next few night were strangly hard for him. every few hours he would wake up and curse his crush on kurt. truth be told he did not mind waking up. he minded, that he could not sleep. even though he was not sleeping well he did not show it. everyone who saw him saw no change in his personality, or behavior. the only sign that he was not sleeping was a strange echo in his heart's natural beat. eric found himself sitting on a small bench looking out over the mansion grounds. he was very tired. not sleeping for almost a week, had taken its toll on him. his reactions had gotten slightly slower, and his body was very weak. eric was having troble keeping his eyes open. twice teachers had scolded him for dozeing in class. eric sighed he was very tired. eric stood up and began to focus his energy. he was doing something rash and he knew it but he did not care he needed to sleep. with one thought, he froze all impulses in his body and brain, efectively putting himself in a time controlled coma. eric's body fell to the ground. under his coat, a small tracer turned on so exo-gene could find him.

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A:N) well tyhere is chapter 4 I hope you all liked it.


	5. Chapter 5

_then next few night were strangly hard for him. every few hours he would wake up and curse his crush on kurt. truth be told he did not mind waking up. he minded, that he could not sleep. even though he was not sleeping well he did not show it. everyone who saw him saw no change in his personality, or behavior. the only sign that he was not sleeping was a strange echo in his heart's natural beat. eric found himself sitting on a small bench looking out over the mansion grounds. he was very tired. not sleeping for almost a week, had taken its toll on him. his reactions had gotten slightly slower, and his body was very weak. eric was having troble keeping his eyes open. twice teachers had scolded him for dozeing in class. eric sighed he was very tired. eric stood up and began to focus his energy. he was doing something rash and he knew it but he did not care he needed to sleep. with one thought, he froze all impulses in his body and brain, efectively putting himself in a time controlled coma. eric's body fell to the ground. under his coat, a small tracer turned on so exo-gene could find him._

**CHAPTER 5**

they had gotten the call at noon. xavier, logan, and storm had been in the kitchen when exo-gene had called to say that eric was in a coma. at once they had gone to the exo-gene building to see his condition. they had met bio, and jason in eric's room. they had filled them all in on eric's condition. bio sighed and spoke. "from what we can tell this is a self brought on coma. it looks like he simply froze his brainwaves. that being said he is completly aware of what is happening around him, his body just cant react." logan nodded and stepped forward. "so he can hear us he just cant react?" jason nodded. "yes. from a physical we have found that he has gotten little sleep in the last week. and what sleep he has had has been continuiously interupted. it would appear that he has been having nightmares. frm what we can tell he has tried to block out the thoughts but it has not worked." xavier sighed. "yes. eric does strike me as a man who does not talk about what is bothering him."

bio nodded in agreement. "yes that is how eric is. he does not like to talk about himself. he fears if he does others can use that against him. we should leave. he does need his rest." everyone nodded and soon left leaving eric completly alone in the room. logan, xavier and storm did not speak on the trip back. they were all to absorbed in their own thoughts. when they arived back at the mansion it was to find many of the students frantic about were eric was. logan was finaly forced to slam his hand hard against the wall to bring them to silence. "ericv is currently at the exo-gene building. he is in a self-induced coma, and is sleeping. the doctors say he will wake up but they have no way of knowing when. when we know you will all know. Now go to bed." everyone nodded and went to their bedrooms. only one person had trouble falling asleep. Kurt simply could not sleep. no matter how he moved, or lay he could not get comfterable. finaly after almost 3 hours of tossing and turning, kurt finaly made up his mind.

kurt stood up and turned on his computer. after a few minutes Kurt found himself on google. carefully he typed in the words 'exo-gene address'. after a moment of searching the cite pulled up the top results. kurt was slightly stunned. the building was not just one building but 15 seprate buildings that spanned 3 blocks. kurt began to look throught the differenty buildings and their purposes. then he stopped. he had found one that looked interesting. the 'mutant observation' building. as fast as he could kurt wrote down the address and closed down his computer. kurt grinned and vanished in a flash of light and a puff smoke. kurt urst into existence in a storage cloest. as he made his way out he had to try to make as little noise as possable. he had just closed the door when he heard it, someone clearing thier throut right behind him. kurt whipped around to find himself looking at a mid aged, woman. she smiled at kurt and nodded.

"let me guess you are here to see eric?" kurt nodded. the woman smiled and motioned for him to follow. "he sure has a lot of friends. your the 5th person to visit today." kurt looked at her. "how do you know eric? no wait, who are you?" the woman smiled. "my name is ruby. as for how I know eric we were both memebers of generation M, in junior high." kurt nodded. "so you and eric go back?" ruby smiled. "yes we go back." kurt nodded to himself. "has he ever done anything like this before?" ruby forced herself to smile. "actually yes. in 8th grade he put himself into a coma during gym class. but he did that because he was in a lot of pain. for the next few weeks he was the talk of the school. nobody knew what had happened. a couple of hours after he collapst people from exo-gene came and took him away to this very building. by the way who are you?"

kurt smiled. "my name is kurt wagner. I live with eric at the xavier mansion, eric's current home." ruby nodded. "so your kurt. eric keeps thinking about you." kurt looked at her a face full of suprise. ruby shrugged and contiuned. "I'm hyper aware, or at least that is just one of my tricks. I can feel the waves of energy coming off of him and then my brain translates them into thoughts and pictures for me to see. he keeps thinking about you. here we are." ruby stopped infront of a small door. after entering a passcode on a small keypad the door slide open and both of them entered the room. eric was laying on a low bed. he was dressed in a set of bagy jean, and a black shirt. around his head a dozen or so sensors blinked and hummed with life. ruby spoke. "from the scans we have taken we can guess that he has not slept in a week." kurt looked up at her. "how can you tell?" ruby shrugged. "eric's body still works like a noraml human body. it just does things differently. since he has not been sleeping, he has had to absorb more energy to stay away. the constant absorbing put a strain on his heart. the strain caused it to beat faster in order to get the energy to were it needed to be."

ruby pasued to look at one of the machines and then continued. "eric's normal beat is about 40 beats per minute. his heart was running at about 60 per minute when we found him. his heart was beating as fast as it does when he is fighting. infact if he had tried to fight in this condition he could have really hurt himself. eric's powers make his mind work differently. if this had continued for any longer, eric could have seriously hurt his brain. if that had gone untreated he would have gone insane in less then 2 weeks. everyone sees him as the ultra powerful mutant that just cant get hurt. that is a lie. eric can be hurt very easly. he may be able to absorb the different forms of energy but if he absorbs to much at one time he puts a big strain on his heart. right now we have him listening to an MP3 player so that when he wakes up he will have at least some energy. after he does wake up however he will be very weak. he should be like that for a few days. and so I have a favor to ask you kurt. will you watch over him and make sure he does not do anything to hurt himself?" kurt nodded and turned back to eric.

"why didn't he tell anyone he was not sleeping?" ruby sighed. "that is classic eric. he does not want others to think that he is weak, so he will hide most signs of weakness from other people. even if it means he could die." ruby looked at 1 of the walls for a moment and then spoke. "you know you really should not be here." Kurt nodded and stood up. "yes I will look after eric but you have to do something for me." ruby raised an eyebrow. "and what would that be?" kurt grinned. "you have to let me and my friends visit him tomorrow." ruby nodded and motioned for kurt to leave. kurt nodded and vanished only to reappear back in his room at the mansion. slowly kurt got dressed and got into bed. the clock on his nightstand read 1:00A.M. with a small yawn kurt rolled over onto his side and began to dream.

**KURT'S DREAM**

he was in his room, laying, on his bed, in his really form. but he was not alone. eric lay next to him lightly snoozing. gently he shook eric wake. eric opened up one of his eyes and looked around the room. then a smaile spred across his face. slowly he woke up and rolled over onto his back. kurt smiled and leaned forward. for a moment they just looked at each other. and then kurt leaned in closer and seized eric's lips. for what felt like an eternity they kissed. when they broke apart eric smiled, and spoke. "love you." kurt smiled and kissed him again. this time when they broke apart t was his time to speak. "love you too."

**NORMAL POV**

kurt sat bolt upright his heart beating violently against his chest. for a few minutes he just sat there stunned at whet he had just drempt. he and eric had been in the same bed, they had kissed, and they had both said they loved the other. kurt shook his head. he could not for the life of him figure out were where the dream had come from. kurt shakely stood up and made his way over to his sink. carefully kurt looked at himself in the mirror. blue skin, 2 yellow eyes, a mouth and a nose stared back at him. kurt leaned against the wall and slowly slid down it until he was sitting. it really bothered him, that he had drempt about him and eric. kurt had no problem with gay people but he just did not think he was one of them. a few kids at bayview were gay. eric had seen them be treated as bad a mutants. yet they had never been mean to anyone. kurt had seen them help others out when they were in trouble. they had even helped him when matthews had hidden his cloths in gym. no kurt had no problem with gay people but he just did not think he was one of them.

kurt had just gotten up when he remembered something that eric had told him once. _" my own and other peoples dreams can be very vivid when I'm around. in rare cases others can actually dream the same thing I did. although it is rare it has happened." _kurt became slightly uneasy. had he just sharred eric dream. ruby had said eric had been dreaming about him. kurt shook his head and got into bed. no. it was crazy eric as not gay. kurt stopped. if the rumors around the school were true eric had been aproched by several girls and had turned down all of them. kurt shook his head. No. he would not make assumptions about eric.he would wait until he woke up and then ask him. kurt nodded and then went back to sleep.

the next day kurt slept in late. so late infact that it was 2 in the afternoon before he woke up fully. finaly kurt could not take it anyw longer. he got up got dressed and made his way down to the Kitchen for breakfast. as kurt made his way down the stairs he could hear voices all around him. kurt opened the door to the kitchen and looked around. he was not alone. jean, and spyke were both sitting at the table half way through what looked like a small feast. both of them looked up and then smiled at kurt, who smiled back. jean swallowed the food in her mouth and then spoke. "geez kurt were you going to sleep in till night? kurt smiled and nodded at jean. "well I did not sleep well." kurt pasued as his mind wandered back to his dream about eric. kurt shook his head no. it was a one time thing and he would not dwell on it. kurt smiled and spoke. "well what are you guys doing today? if your not busy would you like to possably visit eric with me?" jean and spyke thought for a moment and then nodded. "sure we will go with you."

kurt smiled and began to eat. after he was finished he put his plate in the dishwasher, kurt looked at jean, and spyke. "well if you will give me a minute I will pull my car up front and then we can all go visit eric. jean and spyke nodded and in a few minutes they were climbing into kurt's car. as jean buckled herself in she turned to kurt. "do you know were eric is?" kurt nodded. "yeah. last night I looked up exo-gene online. it is actually not very far from bayview maybe only half an hours drive from here. jean smiled and sat down, in the passanger seat. half an hour later they were pulling into the exo-gene parking lot. as they got out kurt spotted ruby out of the corner of his eye. she was walking towards them and looked slightly annoyed. "hey kurt, you and your friends are here to see eric right?' kurt nodded, ruby sighed. "well he is not in the observation building right now. at about 1:30 last night he woke up from his coma. right now our scientists are examining him. I'll take you to him if you want." kurt nodded and they all set of across the parking lot. "by the way ruby this is spyke and jean from the mansion. they also live with eric."

while they walked to eric's location spyke spoke. "so jean and spyke if you don't mind me asking what can you 2 do?" jean smiled. "well I'm telepathic, and spyke here can grow spikes out of his skin." ruby nodded and then looked at spyke. "so how is normal life?" jean looked at her. "what do you mean normal life?" ruby sighed. "I should be in high school right now but I'm not. I work for exo-gene. when I left juior high they offered me a job and I took it." spyke looked sideways at her. "what do you do here?" ruby smiled. "I'm their early warning system. I'm hyper aware. I can tell when something is about to ahppen before it happens. for that reason I'm head of security here." for a minute they stopped so ruby could enter a password into a key pad. as the door opened, they all got their first view of the building were eric was. it looked a lot like a hospital. the hallways were white. every now and then they would pass a floor directory. finaly after what felt like a dozen twists and turns, they entered a large room. the room was huge, it made the danger room back at the mansion look like a coat closet.

the walls were over 30 feets tall and lined with what looked like lead. the ceiling, did not even show. in the very center of the room was a masive statue of a DNA double helix. as they walked across it ruby began to explain what the building was for. "this is the building we use to test mutants and their powers. your friend eric is probably running a combat-sim right now." sure enough when they entered the next room eric was in the middle of it fighting what looked like robotic spiders. he had just destroied the last one when he saw them enter and wave. ruby called out to him. "you done yet?" eric grinned and put his hand behind his head. "yeah. been done for about 3 hours. I'm just smacking the drone around now." high above them a familiar voice boomed out from a set of speakers. "hey eric. do you mind not kicking shit out of my robots?" eric sighed and spoke to the room. "Forge if you don't want me to then don't send them to fight me." ightcrawler raised an eyebrow. "forge as is pocket-verse forge?" eric nodded. "yeah exo-gene hired him about a year ago. been working here ever since."

just as eric stopped talking a door on the far side of the room opened and forge walked out. as he neared them he spotted kurt and waved to them. "hey kurt what is up my friend?" kurt shrugged. "not much. how about you?" forge shrugged, and looked around. "oh not much got out of my pocket-verse. a week later got hired working for one of the biggest mutant companies in the world. now I have access to some of the most expensive machine in thwe world. you know an ordinary day for me." everyone chuckled at that and eric led them out of the trainning room, and into a cafiteria. as they sat dwon eric spoke. "so forge tell me. you said that those drone were better then the last ones. they still broke the same how are they better?" forge chuckled, and nodded his head. "yes I suppose you cant tell. these drones had a learning chip in them. everytime you fought one of them it learned from that fight and passed on its knowledge to the other drones. you may not have noticed it now but the next ones will be harder to beat."

eric nodded, and smiled. "well I look forward to the challenge." with that he turned to jean and smiled. "well it was nice of you all to come and visit little me. thanks for that." spyke smiled and shook his head. "hey man don't worry about it. you have been the talk of the school. everyone wants to know about what happened. from what kurt tells us the that the doctors say you put yourself in a coma. why?" eric sighed and looked at them all. for a long while he did not speak and then he finaly looked up. "yes I put myself in a coma. as for why I did it. the lack of sleep was causeing my powers to distort. thoughts would pop into my head. thoughts that were crazy. this has only happened once before. the first time I almost died from lack of sleep. my powers were driving me insane. that is why I put myself in a coma. so I would not go insane."

forge let out a small whistle. "wow. you sure make it sound bad." eric shook his head. "actually it could have been worse. if I had gone crazy, I could have gone nuclear in the city and killed half the city. or better yet I could have stopped the energy from the sun reaching earth. the world plunges into another ice age, and all life ends." spyke looked away and spoke. "wow eric. I knoew you were powerful but coud you actually do any of that?" eric nodded. "oh yeah. my powers are influenced by my emotions. if I'm angry my powers are stronger." eric sighed and looked at a vending machine. after a minute of thought he stood up and made his way over to it. looking at the choices eric smiled as he found one that he liked. eric focussed on the internal mechinisms for a moment and smiled when he heard the machine click and an oragne shasta came out. eric made his way back the table and sat down. he looked up to find forge looking at him, with a raised eyebrow.

"what?! I didn't have a quarter." forge just shook his head. "I did not say anything." eric rolled his eyes. "anyway, how has everyone been?" as spyke filled them in on what had happened kurt began to think. he wanted to ask eric about his dream but he did not want to do it infront of everyone. by the time spyke had finished it was almost 4 oclock and everyone desided that it was time to head home. as eric made his way to the parking lot he pushed the small tracer that called his bike. as they exited the building eric said his goodby to ruby and forge. as he turned he could just see his bike turn and pull into the lot. eric got on and put on his helmet. he had not moved in 2 days he was not about to risk his muscles clamping up. he heard kurt pull out and gave him a 30 seconds grace time before gunning the engine and shooting out of the lot.

eric shot out of the lot and blew past kurt, giving him a small wave. eric shot through the trafic and let out a small laugh. he had left the lot less then 30 seconds ago and he was already doing 70 miles an hours, not that it mattered. with the energy in his eyes he could see every little detail, and every little event, infront of him. as he shot through an intersection, he could see a young kid and his mother on the sidewalk. he could just make out the kid pointing at him and talking to his mother. eric grinned to himself. the boy looked about the age of 7. at that age eric would have done the same thing. in less then 15 minutes he was pulling into the mansion's driveway. he had made the half hour trip in half the time. eric sighed. he actually felt a little sad that he had not made it in less. eric had just closed the door to his room when he heard kurt pull into the garage.

he had just started to pull on his shirt when he heard aknock at his door. "come in." he had expected xavier, maybe storm. so when kurt walked in he went slightly red. he quikckly finished putting on his shirt and then spoke. "yes kurt?" kurt looked at eric and shook his head. eric could tell instantly that something was up. "kurt what is wrong?" kurt looked at him and then spoke in a very small voice. "eric last night a had a strange dream about you. as kurt went on to desrcibe his dream eric felt his blood run cold. he lied to kurt saying he had not had any dreams while in his coma. when kurt closed the door eric fell right were he had stod. eric began to shake as the knowledge of what had happened sunk in. as he lay there the peices began to fall into place.

kurt was hyper atuned. maybe not to the level of ruby but he was atune. he had been in synce with eric so much to the point that he had taken eric dream and continued it when he had fallen alseep. eric had lied, to kurt. in truth he had drempt while he had been in his coma. he had drempt that he had gone out on a date with kurt. not only that but they had ended sleeping in the same bed. the only mercy in the dream had been the fact that they had just slept nothing else had happened. then halfway through the dream it had stopped and gone black. eric sighed and moved into a sitting position. it must have been when kurt had left with the peice of his dream. once again shakes over took him. as he sat there shaking more thoughts began to form in his head. what was he going to do now. now that the conection between him and kurt had been made kurt would keep having these dreams. when kurt had been describing the dream he had seemed so uncomfterable, and that was not something eric wanted.

eric felt a small tear run down the side of his face as one last thought ran through his head. he would have to leave the mansion. if he stayed, kurt would keep having these dreams. that would cause kurt to be uncomfterable around him, and that was not something he was willing to do. eric shook his head. No, he would not leave his new family. he would try one last idea. if kurt was really atuned with him then he would continue haveing eric's dreams. so he would try one last test. he would make a dream and play it in his head when he went to sleep. if kurt was atuned he would also have the dream and then eric would know if the incedent at exo-gene was a one time thing or not. eric let out a small sigh and began to construct the dream. in less then 3 mintues he had the dream ready and he was in his bed. eric sighed, here went nothing and everything at the same time. eric let the dream start and fell into his sleep.

the next day eric watched kurt very closely. he was looking for a reaction. if kurt had picked up on the dream he had build then he would act differently around him. he was hoping that kurt did not react but his hopes were not answered. all he had to do was look at kurt and kurt would look away from him. for the sake of everyone else he kept it together until gym class. it was the that he called his bike got on, turned of the traker logan had installed and sped off, away from the one person he truely carried for.

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A:N) wow cliffhanger. I hope you all like this chapter. comeing soon we will see masive development in eric's and kurt's relationship. plus you get to learn about more about eric's past relationships.


	6. Chapter 6

_the next day Eric watched Kurt very closely. he was looking for a reaction. if Kurt had picked up on the dream he had build then he would act differently around him. he was hoping that Kurt did not react but his hopes were not answered. all he had to do was look at Kurt and Kurt would look away from him. for the sake of everyone else he kept it together until gym class. it was the that he called his bike got on, turned of the traker logan had installed and sped off, away from the one person he truely cared for. _

**CHAPTER 6**

it was just after gym that Kurt noticed something was wrong. he had seen Eric for most of the day, and had avoided him for that time. it was durring gym that he began to get a bad feeling. he had thought he would see Eric durring gym, he had thought wrong. Eric had not even shown up for the class, in fact he did not show up for any other classes. Kurt had thought he would Eric at the mansion, and once again he had been wrong. acording to the mansion's auto-garage system, Eric's cycle had turned itself on and left in the dirrection of the high school at 1:30 P.M, just before gym started. Kurt had called Eric's cell-phone but there had been no signal. that had gotten Kurt worried. he had gone to see xavier and asked were Eric was. the professor had told him not to worry and that they had instaled a tracking devise on his bike. however to both their frustration, they discovered that the devise had been destroyed. Kurt went to bed that night with a lot on his mind.

**KURT'S DREAM**

he was standing in the ruins of what looked like a house. the walls and roof had been blown and had masive burns all over them. he slowly made his way through the destroyed home. he had just entered what looked like the kitchen when he heard someone's voice. Kurt looked around and found the source of the noise. a younger looking Eric was crouched hold a burnt body in the remains of what looked like the dinning room. to Kurt's horror the corps gave a couph and sprayed blood all over Eric's face. the corps's head rolled to it side clearly dead. behind Kurt someone sighed, causing him to whip around. sitting on the remains of the counter was a young man. the boy had shoulder length, brown hair with dyed roots. the boy's eyes were a dark shade of green and they seemed to sparkle with an inner light. his skin had a light tan and he was of a slender, but muscular build. he sighed again, looked at Kurt and spoke.

"I did not feel a thing." Kurt looked questioningly at him. the boy gestured to the burnt corps and sighed again. Kurt looked at him and then at the corps. it was then that he made the conection. he took a step backwards and pointed at the boy. "your John, Eric's friend who died!" the boy grinned and hopped off the counter. "your almost right. my name is John, and I was Eric's past boyfriend. that's right, your thoughts were correct Eric is gay." it took Kurt a moment to for this information to sink in. when it did he took another step back. john sighed and spoke. "stop acting so stunned. I would not be here if you did not feel something for him. the fact of the matter is you do feel something for him." john crouched by Eric who had frozen in place, as though frozen in time. for a moment he looked at Eric and then straighten up.

john looked at Kurt. "how I survived I'm not sure but I have a good idea. in my last moments of life I was trying everything I could to survive. in that moment my brain was running on overdrive. because of the surge of energy from my body,s Eric absorbed part of my soul. I've been in his mind waiting until I was need. which is now. You Kurt Wagner are at a crossroad. on one side is the life you have known most of your life. on the other side is a hole new world that will not only make you happy but Eric too. the problem is you have not chosen the side you wish to be on. you do care for Eric, there is no way around that. Now if you are afraid of rejection then don't be, Eric hasd a crush on you. it is from that crush that your's and his problems start. Eric beleives you are not gay. right now your not, but that can change very fast. you wan to find Eric I know were he is, and I will tell you. however there is one condition, you have to make up your mind. I know you want to find Eric, but you you need to deside once and for all. do you want to pursue a relationship with Eric or not?"

Kurt looked away. "but I'm not gay." john sighed, and put his hand behind his head. "if that is the case then you need to tell him so he can get over you and move on." Kurt looked at john, and a slightly sad look came over his face. "but what if he leav es again because he thinks I don't like him?" john rolled his eyes. "Kurt Eric is not that kind of person. he left because he thought that his presence made you uncomfterable. if you tell him you are not interested then he will come back. not only that nut he will be happy because he will know that you don't like him in that way. however, if you tell him this you had better be sure it is the truth. Eric has been honist with you so far he deserves the same. some how though I don't think you will say that to him." Kurt looked at john and raised an eyebrow. "what makes you say that?" john shrugged. "think about it Kurt. has he opened up to anyone besides you? no he has not. that shows he wants to get to know you. not only that but you actually took the time to get to know him. that shows that you care for him, but at that point it was just friendship."

john pasued for a moment and then continued. "however this began to change when you stood up for Eric. at that point your feelings began to change. you began to feel a conection to Eric. it was through that conection that you became atuned with him. the biggest change was when you visited Eric when you risked arest. you could have waited until he got out, but you didn't. you took the time to look up were he was, not only that but you visited him even though you knew he could not hear you. even now you feel something for him. if you didn't I would not be here. so now we are at the crossroad. what way you go is your own choise but know this. there is no going back. what you choose you will stick with. Eric has booked a ticket on a train headed for California. right now he is on the train, half an hour from now he will transfer to another train, and then not even cerebro will be able to find him. what ever you choose you need to do it within the next 30 minutes."

with that the dream imploded and Kurt woke with a start. Kurt shot out of bed and threw on a sweat shirt, and a pair of blue jeans. he was half way out the door when he stopped. why did he care so much? he was not gay, was he? Kurt slowly walked out of his room and passed Eric's room. he stopped and looked inside. the room was still decorated like he was there. the pictures still stood on his nightstand, as though waiting to be looked at. on his desk, the gravity generators he had used to fix Kurt's watch hummed with life. in their field was a pencil. the earth's own gravity occasionaly caught it causeing the pencil to drop for a moment and then slowly raise back up as it hit the limit of the anit-gravity field. slolwy Kurt made his way over to the bed and sat down. it was only then that Kurt saw the envelope on the pillow, on the front was written his name. with shaking hands Kurt slwoly opened the envelope and began to read the letter inside.

'Dear Kurt Wagner, if you are reading this then I have left the mansion and no one knows were I am. first of all I would like to say sorry for any discomfort I may have caused you. I never mant to make you or anyone in the mansion uncomfterable. by now I'm sure you are wondering why I have left. to this question I have only 1 answer your personly comfort. when I first got to the mansion I took a likeing to you. over the last few months these feels developed into somthing more. it has only been resently that I have admitted what these feelings were, Love. As strange as this may sound it is true I'm gay and have been for most of my life. that is why john's death was so devistating to me. john was my first boyfriend and perhaps one of the only people who truely knows what it feels like growing up knowing you are not like other people. maybe that is what makes me love you. you too know what it feels like to grow up differently. I ask that you don't look for me. me leaving means that everyone will be happier. I know that you and scott have had problems, with me gone you can patch things up with him now. once agian I would like to apologies for anything I may have done that made you unhappy. this may be the last time I say it but I do mean it, I love you.'

Kurts hands shook as he finished the letter. Eric loved him? the way john had spoken to him made it sound like Eric just liked him. slowly Kurt looked around the room again. memories of his time spent with Eric flashed through his mind. he had had fun with Eric there was no doubt about that. slowly Kurt stood up. could he love Eric? he had no problem with Eric's personality, or his way of doing things. not only that but they had spent time alone in the same room and nothing strange had happened. as Kurt looked around the he could not help but feel sad. snce Eric had showed up he had been living the same day over and over. with Eric around everything had been different. toad had been the biggest change, he had been ahppy and kind to everyone. as far as Kurt knew toad had not done anything brotherhood related in the last few weeks. it was no question that Eric had a positive effect on the mansion. as Kurt looked around the room his eyes fell on the clock. he had only 5 minutes to make his choice. Kurt's mind went into a panic. as Kurt thought of how life would be like without Eric he began to run out of the room. life with out Eric would not be the same. it would be very sad. Kurt thought about Eric and his location seemed to pop into his head. with one last thought Kurt popped out of the mansion and onto a train over 3,000 miles away.

he was in empty an train car. every now and then the car would go over dips or turns causeing the car to shake slightly. slowly Kurt made his way up the car. it seemed totaly empty. not one soul was on it. as Kurt neared the door to the next car he began to doubt himself. had john lied? or was it worse had he Subconsciously chosen the wrong train on purpose. Kurt slowly made his way to next car, and then the next car. for then next 4 cars Kurt found no one. he was slightly thankfull for the considering his watch was busted from his teleport. it was when he made it to the 5 car that he found someone. an old woman was sitting on a seat looking out of the window. Kurt stopped. how could he pass her without making a noise or a scene. he was about to look for another route when the woman spoke. "I know that you are there. so stop worrying and get going. the person you are looking for is in the 3rd car. get going." Kurt opened his mouth to ask how the woman knew he was there, but the woman cut him off. "I'm physic, get going. there is no one else here" Kurt smiled and ran passed, the woman. Kurt ran through 5 more cars before ha found another car with a person in it.

Eric had just gotten himself a glass of water when he felt a presence. slowly he turned around and found that across the isle was Kurt. Eric's brain wnet into panic mode. in his panicced state he came to one conclution, Kurt was mad about his letter and had found him so he could kick Eric's ass. Eric dropped the cup he had been holding and ran for his life. he burst through the door of the second with Kurt right behind him. off to one side was a drink cart. with a simply pulse through his brain the cart was lifted into the air and thrown behind him. he heard a 'bamf' and then heard the cartsmall into the wall. it was that noise that made him run faster. he heard Kurt shout at him to stop but he did not infact he sped up. tears slid down the side of his face as he ran. he had tried to do the right thing. john had taught him to be open with how he felt so he had told Kurt. now Kurt was trying to hurt him. he had burst into the last car when he heard another 'bamf' and looked behind him. Kurt was gone, and a lingering smell of brimstone was in the air. Eric continued to run on the chance that Kurt was still around. he had just turned around when he heard another 'bamf'. Eric turned anf ound that Kurt was right infront of him.

Kurt dropped into a crouch and stuck out his leg and tripped Eric. it was not a noce thing to do but it was the best thing he could think of, and it was clear Eric had not expected it. Eric fell hard, sliding a good 5 feet befor coming to a stop. half a dozen beatings had taught him how to protect himself when he was in a weak state, and about to be hit. Eric pulled his legs upto his chest and then wrapped his arms around his knees. he could feel Kurt walking up to him. tears flowed down the side of his face. "how did you fnd me?" he waited then he heard Kurt speak. "john told me. whe he died you absorbed some of his soul. when you left he visited me in a dream and told me everything." Eric opened one eye. "everything?" Kurt nodded. "everything." Eric stayed silent for a second and thens poke in a choked voice. "I'm sorry." Kurt looked at him. "why are you sorry?" Eric looked up at him.

"I told you that I 'like' you and now your going to kick my ass, that is why I'm sorry." Kurt took a step backwards. "why would you think that?" Eric uncurled himself and spoke. "why else would you be here?" Kurt shook his head. "maybe because I was worried about you. look Eric I don't care that you are gay. look I don't know if I like you in that way but... I'll make you a deal. if you come back to the mansion then we will go out on one date. after that we will see were fate takes, us. OK?" Eric smiled and pushed himself up, so he was sitting on the floor. Eric smiled and nodded. "deal, but I pain for this ticket and I plan to use it, so can we at least wait until I have to transfer before we go back?" Kurt smiled and nodded. Eric smiled and stood up. "sorry about the drink cart." Kurt shook his head. "don't worry about it."

Eric and Kurt made their way back to Eric's seat. once they sat down Kurt spoke. "hey Eric I don't have a ticket." Eric grinned and pulled out a small palm pilot, and pulled up the internet. Eric closed his eyes and focused on the palm pilot. electricity pulsed and arched down Eric arm and into the palm pilot. the screen changed, from the cite to a screen filled with numbers. Kurt looked from the screen to Eric's face. his eyes were closed and he could see Eric was in deep consentration. after a moment Eric opened his eyes and handed the palm pilot to Kurt. on the screen was an e-ticket. Kurt looked at Eric. "what did you do?" Eric shrugged. "just hacked the system to get you a ticket. my powers do have fringe benifits." Kurt smiled anmd was about to speak when a voice came over the speakers. "attention riders, due to bad weather we have been forced to turn around and go back tobayview. we are sorry for the inconvenance."

Eric sighed. "huh, were is storm when you need her?" Kurt smiled and laughed. the ride back was about 3 hours long. when they got back to bayview Eric called his cycle to him with his tracer. at was then that lurt hesitated. "Eric..." Eric smiled. "relax Kurt, I wont drive like I normaly do, and he didn't. the fastes he when was 50MPH. less then an hours after getting of the train Eric and Kurt pulled into the mansion driveway. it was about 3 Oclock in the morning so they silently crept to their rooms. as Kurt passed Eric he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Kurt I just wanted to say thank you. I'm glad you are at least giving me a chance to have you. "Kurt shook his head. "don't mention it." as Eric watched Kurt's shadow move away from him he could not help but feel a sence of happiness. he may not have had Kurt but he had a chance. Eric smiled to himself as he got dressed for bed. as Eric got into his bed he thought of john. Kurt had said john had told him were he had been going. maybe john was still looking out for him even in death. Eric smiled rolled over and fell fast asleep.

the next day Eric woke with a feeling of pure joy. as he got dressed he hummed a small tune. it was saturday morning so there was no school. as Eric made his way down the stairs he began to relize that no one knew he had tried to runaway. the other students greeted him in their normal ways. as Eric made his way to the kitchen he ran into xavier. as Eric passed him xavier tunred and began to move along side him. "Eric, I know you tried to runaway lastnight. why?" Eric shrugged. "thought I had to get away but I reconsidered my choices. now I'm back and I'm staying." xavier smiled and nodded. "good." Eric rolled his eyes as xavier left him. Eric was beginning to find xavier's views and ideas. it was not that they weren't right it was just that they seemed a little self-centered.

as Eric stepped into the kitchen he found that for the first time in a long time he would be eating alone. Eric fixed himself some toast and sat down. he did not need to eat as much as other people. that was just one of the fringe benifits about his power. he had just put his plate away when a thought hit him, at was March 20th. it would be spring break in 4 days. an idea began to form in his head. in the past during spring break exo-gene rented out one of their unused buildings for use. in the past mutants from all over the country flocked there for the biggest all mutant in the world. the parties usually lasted for 3 days and nights. the buildings carrying capasity was over 50,000 people. the buildings were all 40 stories high. in the past the bottom 20 floors were used for parties. the top 20 floors were used for rest, and personal uses during the parties.

if he could convince xavier to let everyone go it would be the perfect date for him and Kurt. Eric put away his plate and pulled out his cell phone. if there was going to be a party then there was only one person who would know for sure, Feline. Eric pushed speed dial 5 on his phone and waited. the phone rang twice before a seductive female voice answered. "talk to the cat." Eric rolled his eyes. "yo feline it's Eric. is exo-gene throughing a party like last year?" after moment of silence feline spoke. "yeah, they are. I was hoping you would come. think you will show?" Eric grinned. "yeah, and depending how things turn out I might be bringing some friends along. bye." Eric hing up his phone and smiled. there was only one more thing left to do. Eric made his way to the gardens were he could feel xavier's energy.

as Eric entered the gardens xavier looked up. at once he could sence Eric was going to ask him something. "what is it now Eric?" Eric smiled and sat down on a small stone bench. "would it be ok if for spring break I took everyone to a party at one of the exo-gene building?" xavier thought for a moment. "who would be going?" Eric smiled, and chuckled. "well in the pasted mutants from every corner of the world come. it is the biggest all mutant party of the year. not only that it is the biggest in the world." xavier looked off into the grounds for a moment. off in the distance he could just make out scott, and logan running a trainning routine. xavier turned to Eric, and spoke. "you and them can go but only if you bring logan and storm with you." Eric grinned. "no problem." Eric ran into his room and once agian pulled out his cell phone, and called feline. he got the machine. "yo you called the cat. she out chasing a mouse. leave milk and a message." Eric chuckled slightly he had never heard feline's machine before. "yo feline, it's Eric again. just thought you should know I will be bringing some friends just thought you should know. call me back."

as Eric hung up the phone he heard someone pass his room. Eric pened his door and found that it was kitty. the way she was standing made it clear that she had just been about to knock on the door. Eric spoke first. "kitty, just the person I wanted to see. do you think you could get everyone together in the living room?" kitty nodded and walked away. Eric closed the door and smiled everything was falling into place. a few minutes later Eric walked into the living room. spyke looked up as he entered the room. "Eric what's going on, kitty said you wanted to talk to us all?" Eric nodded and spoke. "yes. I have a question for all of you. what do you plan to do for spring break?" the general answer was nothing. Eric grinned. "how would you all like to go to a 3 day 2 night long party?" the roo exploded weith the words 'yes'. ever logan seemed like he wanted to go. Eric waited for the other to stop before he spoke again. "well then you are all in. exo-gene throughs a mutant only party every year. it's the biggest all mutant bash of the year. I still need to talk to some people to find out what kind of party it is but as of right now you are all in."

Eric made his way back to his room. if they were going he wold need to know the theme of the party. every year it was different. last year it had been mid-evil themed. as Eric sat down on his bed his cell phone whet off. Eric opened his phone and saw that it was feline. "hey feline, what's up?" "just got back from calling exo-gene. the party is a costume party. you can come as anything you want. what do you think you will come as?" "don't know. I'll be bringing a boy I like, so I don't know yet." "well I have to go, my fish is ready. bye." Eric hung up and lay down on his bed. costume party, it was perfect. since he could wear anything he wanted he could wear his fishnet shirt, leather vest and pants without looking strange. Eric spent the next 15 minutes going around to everyone's rooms and telling them the theme of the party. he also told them to bering a change of street cloths. he had learned earily on that it was smart to bring a change of cloths, for later use. finaly made his way back to his room, and lay down on his bed. he was really looking forward to seeing all of his old buddies.

on sunday night Eric walked into the garage to find Kurt looking at his bike. Eric smiled and spoke to the room and Kurt. "I like my bike too." Kurt jumped and looked at him. "oh Eric. you scared me. what are you doing here?" Eric shrugged and smiled. "I have to reserve rooms for everyone tomorrow. if they are anything like me they will need to rest between parties." Kurt nodded and then looked at Kurt with a very serious face. "Eric, can I ask you something?" Eric nodded, Kurt looked away and then spoke. "why are you really taking us all to this party?" Eric sighd. "the truth is, I'm miking this my chnace. if you still don't feel anything for me after this party then I'll look for someone esle." Kurt nodded. "you know Eric I like being your friend. I'm just a little scared to move into that form of a relationship." Eric nodded. there was silence for a moment before Eric looked around the garage and spoke.

"you know Kurt, it was hard for me to accept it. the fact that I was gay came as a bit of a shock to me. I never would have thought that I was gay. the idea that I could only another man did not seem right, even to me. but when I met my first boyfriend, Justin I had never felt more happy." Kurt looked up at Eric. "Eric if you don't mind me asking, how many... boyfriends have you had?" Eric sighed. "well I can't say I'm not suprised by that question. I've only had 2 boyfriends. Justin was my first boyfriend, but..." Kurt looked at Eric, his face had changed. gone was the happy look on it. the look on his face was one of sadness. "when we first started dating I thought I was the luckiest person in the world. he was smart, funny, and he was a mutant but, he didn't tell me he was sick. he had an agressive form of Lyphoma, that took his life. even though he could heal a bullet wound he could not stop his disease. the best time of my life lasted only 2 weeks."

Eric broke off as a small tear rolled down his cheek. after a minute of silence Eric looked up. "after he died I fell into a deep depression. it was during that time that exo-gene found me. it was a few days later that I found out why I was so depressed. ever since Justin's funeral I stayed indoors. because of that I cut myself off from the light and heat. becuase of that I could not absorb it and thus I could not get the energy from them. if exo-gene had not found me I would have died. it was exo-gene that set me and john up. he worked for them, as a mechanic. I took a liking to him and after a few months I asked him out." Eric paused and then continued. "not long after that we moved in together the rest is history." Kurt looked at Eric with a slightly stunned exprestion.

after several minutes Kurt spoke. "wow. you've had an... interesting life." Eric smiled and hopped onto his bike, Kurt spoke. "were are you going Eric?" Eric grinned and shrugged. "I have to reserve rooms for us all if we want to rest during the party. I'm doing it now so I wont have to beat the rush." with that Eric turned on his bike, gunned the engin and sped ut of the garage. Kurt watched Eric's form slowly disappear into the shadows. Kurt sighed and walked back to his room. as he closed the door he began to think. Eric was going through a lot of trouble to set out their date. slowly Kurt sat down on his bed. if he was truly honest with himself he was looking forward to the party. infact it did not even seem like a date. the way Eric had described it, it was more like a party to celebrate being a mutant. Kurt smiled to himself and layed down on his bed. he was looking forward to it and something else had changed lately. Eric's appearance had changed. before Kurt had not looked much at him, but now Kurt could not stop sneaking looks at Eric.

Kurt sighed. was he falling for Eric? if he was completely honest with himself he was seeing Eric differently. since he had found out that Eric was gay things had been different. since then Kurt had begun to understand why Eric was the way he was. he had begun to understand why Eric fought so hard for what he wanted. because he had never been given anything in life so he fought for life. not only that but it explained why he did not live in one place for very long. he would settle down, someone would find out he was gay and they would drive him out. Kurt sighed and sat back up. he was certainly seeing Eric differently for the first time. he could begin to hear Eric's bike aproaching the mansion. Kurt 'bamped' from his bed to on the ceiling infront of the window.

it had begun to rain and Kurt could just make out the bike's light in the rain. Eric's light turned and pulled into the garage. Kurt could just see Eric climbing off his bike and putting the kickstand down. Kurt sighed and could not help but smiled to himself. despite what everyone said about Eric being a god, he managed to keep himself human. a few minutes later Kurt heard a knock at his door. after letting Eric in he looked at him. Eric smiled and tossed Kurt a small packet. "here you need this to get in to the party. so keep that handy." Kurt nodded and then looked at Kurt. "hey Eric can I ask you something?" Eric nodded and smiled. Kurt swallowed the lump in his throat and then spoke. "well... when did you first 'know'?" Eric sighed and looked out the window. "I guess on some level I aways knew. when my friends wold start talking about girls they like I would just nodd and smiled, to what ever they said. I guess at one point I may have liked girls but that time was short lived."

Kurt nodded and looked at Eric. "that does not answer my question." Eric smiled and continued on. "I have exo-gene to thank for that. when I manifested they ran hundreds of tests, on me. did you know when you are atracted to someone your body acts differently. your heart speeds up and your blood pressure sky rockets. when they tested me they put me through dozens of situations one of those involled, a 'romantic' situation, with a boy I had seen working at exo-gene. to theirs and my suprise I liked it. I guess it was then that I knew I 'was'. later they tried the same situation but with a girl. they got o reaction out of me. I was about 12 at that time." Kurt nodded and Eric smiled. "I hope that answered your question. I have to go I still need to give the others their tickets." with that Eric left the room and closed the door. Kurt slowly sank back onto his bed.

the relization was slowly sinking in. he was gay. his heart did speed up when Eric was near him. Kurt lay back down on his bed, and closed his eyes. was this wrong? was it wrong for his to like Eric in a romantic way? Kurt slowly pulled a small stuffed animal against his chest. the stuffed animal had sentimental vale to him because she had given it to him when he had first moved in. Kurt smiled to himself and closed his eyes. he was asleep before he could count to 10. rapidly his mind constructed a scene with him and Eric in it. they were alone in Kurt's room. Eric was leaning against the wall while sitting on the window sill, and looking out the window, Kurt was doing work on his desk. Kurt pushed his chair back and stood up. Eric looked over from the window and smiled. Kurt smiled to and slowly approached the window sill. for a moment Kurt looked at Eric and then smiled. eirc smiled and and rasied on of his hands. Kurt felt his body riase up off the floor and move on its own. Kurt floated over Eric and then finaly settled down next to Eric.

Kurt let out a small sigh of happiness and smiled. Eric smiled and gently nuzzled Kurt's neck. Kurt let out a small moan and turned to face Eric. for a moment they just looked at each other, and then they both smiled. Kurt slowly leaned in closer to Eric, Eric also moved closer, half a second later both their lips met. for several minutes they stayed like this lips, lock in a kiss. when they finaly did break apart it was for lack of air. Kurt panted and Eric, just breathed deeply. slowly Kurt moved, so instead of sitting next to Eric, he was leaning against Eric's chest. Kurt's tail had wrapped around Eric's stomach and occasionaly it would flick. sEric's legs were on either side of his waist. Kurt could not help but let out a sigh of content. Eric's chest felt very warm. it was not hot, but it was warm. most likely a side effect of his mutation. Kurt looked up at Eric's face. Eric looked at Kurt and then smiled, "love you Kurt." Kurt smiled back and spoke. "love you too."

Kurt woke up but did not sit up. truth be told he was bummed he wished the dream had lasted, it had felt so good. Kurt smiled and felt his tail begin to wag. now that he could admit that he liked the dream it did not bother him. infact it felt very nice to finaly know if he was gay or not. when he had first moved to bayview, a few girls had asked him out, but he had turned them down. he had not 'felt' anything from them. they just did not give him the 'safe' feeling he was looking for. Kurt sighed and rolled over hoping to continue his dream. after half an hour, of trying to get back to sleep Kurt got up and made his way down to the kitchen for a mid night snack. slowly he made his way to the kitchen and began to fix himself a snack. he had just sat down to eat when he heard someone behind him speak. "nice to have company." Kurt turned around and found Eric sitting on the counter, eating a pair.

Kurt felt his face heat up and his heart begin to pound. Kurt smiled and Eric and moved so he coud eat and look at Eric. Eric gave Kurt a small nodded and then went back to eating his pair. Kurt spoke first. "how long have you been up?" Eric shrugged, and took another bite of his pair. "about ah hour. had a nighmare, thought eating would calm my mind." Kurt nodded, and began to eat the sandwitch he had made. Eric watched him for a moment and then spoke. "you nervous for the party tomarrow?" Kurt stopped eating and looked at Eric. "a little bit, yeah." Eric smiled and shook his head. "don't be. everything will be fine. but I do have 1 condition to come. you can't wear your holo-watch." Kurt stopped eating as a sign of shock. "what?" Eric smiled, and shrugged. "you heard me, you cant wear your watch. you dont have to worry though only mutants will be there. infact you will probably meet, several other people who have conditions similar to yours. I can think of a dozen off the top of my head."

Kurt smiled. "alright, I'll do it." Eric smiled and nodded. "good. if you had said no I was going to short out your watch anyway." Kurt nodded, not sure if he was 'ok' with that. for a while Kurt and Eric ate in silence then Eric stood up. "well I'm done. goodnight." Kurt also stood up, plate in hand. "I'm done too. we'll walk back together." Eric paused for a moment and then nodded. "sure." Kurt put his plate away and he and Kurt walked back to their rooms. however they desided to take a different way. the way they took made them pass Eric's room first. as they neared Eric's door Kurt began to shake slightly. he could not stop no matter how hard he tried. as Eric stopped by his room he could see that something was wrong with Kurt. Eric stopped infront of his door and looked at Kurt. his whole body was shaking. Eric nervously took Kurt's hands in his and looked at Kurt. "Kurt, relax. I'm not going to jump you. just be yourself, thats the person I fell for. goodnight."

Eric looked around the hallway and then leaned in and kissed Kurt on the cheek. Eric closed the door and then went back to bed. Kurt slowly walked back to his room. as he closed the door he could not help but smile. Eric had kissed him, _him_. the blue fuzz ball of the group. Kurt crawled back into her bed and tried to go back to sleep. half an hour later though he had not fallen alseep. he had tossed and turned trying to get comfterable, but it was no good. then all at once Kurt's body began to move on its own. Kurt stood up and walked out of his room. Kurt walked down the hallway untill he was right infront of Eric's room. Kurt did not even knock he just 'bamfed' into the room. his eyes adjusted quikly, so he could see the room. he could see Eric looking around half asleep trying to find out what had happened. Kurt made his way over to Eric's bed and pulled back the sheets. "Kurt wha-"

Kurt crawled into bed and moved close to Eric. "shhhhhh, just for tonight. just for tonight I want to know what it feels like to be held by someone who loves you. only other person who would do that was my foster parents. please just for tonight." there was a silence for a moment and then Kurt felt strng arms wrap themselves around his waist. Kurt moanned slightly as he felt Eric's arm pulled his closer to Eric' chest. "just for tonight Kurt, but I need an answer. this cant go on it will only end up hurting each other." Kurt nodded but was unseen by Eric. Kurt moanedagain as he felt Eric's warm breath on his neck. slowly Kurt's eyes closed and he fell into a deep sleep. slowly Eric too fell asleep. unknown to both of them they moved closer to each other.

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A:N) THIS IS SO COOL! I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for a long time. I hope you all liked it. cant wait for the next chapter.


	7. party, party, party

_Kurt crawled into bed and moved close to Eric. "shhhhhh, just for tonight. just for tonight I want to know what it feels like to be held by someone who loves you. only other person who would do that was my foster parents. please just for tonight." there was a silence for a moment and then Kurt felt strong arms wrap themselves around his waist. Kurt moanned slightly as he felt Eric's arms pulled his closer to Eric's chest. "just for tonight Kurt, but I need an answer. this cant go on it will only end up hurting each other." Kurt nodded but was unseen by Eric. Kurt moaned again as he felt Eric's warm breath on his neck. slowly Kurt's eyes closed and he fell into a deep sleep. slowly Eric too fell asleep. unknown to both of them they moved closer to each other. _

**CHAPTER 7**

golden rays of sunlight arked into the room were 2 lovers lay. slowly kurt opened his eyes and slowly looked around. it took about 30 seconds for kurt to recognize, were he was. he was in Eric's room laying in Eric's bed, and if he left side was corect. he had Eric's arm draped across his side. kurt slowly sat up and looked around. Eric lay next to him. his body was spralled across the bed, and he was face down. like he had felt Eric's arm had been draped across his side. kurt put his hand to his face and thought. he knew he had snuck into Eric's room last night, but he had hoped it was a dream. yet even now he felt proud of himself that he could admitt that he liked Eric. he was so wrpped up in his thought he did not notice Eric had rolled over until he felt his hand on his knee. kurt lept into the air flipped over and stuck to the ceilling.

from his position he could fully see Eric. he was still spralled across the bed. his head was layed off to one side. his hair was ruffled and looked like it had just been put through a wind tunnel. one of Eric's arms was resting on his chest, and the other was hanging just off the bed. kurt slowly lowered himself so he would not step on the bed but on the floor. shakely he made his way to the door and left the room with one last look at Eric. slowly he made his way to the roof of the mansion. once there he sat on the ledge and began to think. he was gay he could admit that now. not only that but he had someone who loved him. kurt sighed and layed down and the ledge. "he liked Eric he really did. he was smart, funny and he was accepting, but what if things did not work out between them. what if they broke up, would their friendship survive. no kurt was not one to gamble with 'what ifs'.

**ERIC'S POV**

Eric sighed as he heard his door close. slowly he sat up and used his enhanced hearing to hear kurt walk down the hallway and finaly disappear. Eric sank back down and laid his head on the pillow. it was beginning to hurt, kurt's undesisivness. Eric could feel a change in kurt's energy, it was the same as his when he saw kurt but. Eric shook his head. there was an echo to it, an echo of hesitance. when Eric first met kurt he could tell that kurt was not the kind of person to deal with 'what ifs'. slowly kurt turned over so he was sitting on his mattres. Eric stood up and changed out of his pajamas. slowly he made his way down the hall and began to follow the 'scent' of kurt's energy. Eric found that the trail ended at a door that lead to the roof. Eric focused on all the sound the door would make and opened it. no sound came from the old door as it opened. sure enough kurt was there. he was sitting on the ledge looking at the sky and surroundings. silently Eric aproched kurt until he was right behind him. he could tell by the feel of kurt's energy that he was deep in thought about what had happened last night. "you know you could have at least said bye."

**KURT POV**

kurt jumped and whiped around when he heard Eric's voice right bhind him. after his shock he looked down at the ground. "sorry." a second later he felt Eric's hand on his chin forcing him to look up. Eric shook his head and smiled. "do me a favor, dont look away when your talking to me." kurt nodded, and opened his mouth to speak, but Eric shook his head. "no kurt, it is my turn to talk and your turn to listen. I know what you are doing may not seem very damaging to you but it is very damaging to me. if you keep this up one of us will get hurt. now your still young you have your whole life ahead of you for love and romance. however I'm not so lucky. I've been hurt in romance and it has happened more then you might think, but I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to try and make you feel less uncomfterable around me. to do that I'm going to leave you alone for the day but you must think about the possable 'us'. kurt I may love you but I wont wait forever. I would like an answer before the end of the party at exo-gene. if I dont have one by then I will start looking else were. just... think about it. try to think of all the good points of 'us'."

with that Eric lept over kurt and off the side of the mansion and down into the front lawn. Eric landed with a massive crunch and after brushing himself off, walked away like nothing had happened. Eric had a lot he had to do that day, despite what others may have thought. Eric had to help set out the party for that night. as he made his way to the front gate he smiled to himself. he stopped as he neared the front gate. he could feel someone's eyes watching him. Eric looked around and found that it was rouge.

**ROUGE'S POV**

rouge had been having a noraml day for her. she had got up gone through her chores and had been sitting on a bench when she had seen Eric walk by. truth be told she had come to really like Eric. not only was he cute, but he was smart and he had a great sence of humor. it was because of those traits that she had begun to recently see Eric in a new light, a light of romance. rouge was not one to put much store in romance. she had never had any in her life before the mansion. sure he had held a small crush for scott but that had died out in time. as eirc passed by her she stood up and began to follow him. he was heading towards the main gates as though he had to leave. about 10 feet from the gates he stopped and turned around. he did it so fast she did not have time to hide.

**NORMAL POV**

Eric smiled and nodded to rouge. "was there something you needed?" rouge looked away and then back to him. "no. I was just wondering where you were going." Eric smiled and shrugged. "I have to help set up the party for tonight." rouge smiled and began to shift from foot to foot. "well... um... would you mind if I tagged along?" Eric smiled. "sure we could use all the extra help we can get. I was planning on walking, so you might have to absorb some of my power to get there with me is that a problem?" rouge shook her head and moved closer to Eric. Eric smiled as he watched rouge take off one of her gloves and move to touch his face. rouge, flushed a little as her skin made contact with Eric's face. his skin was warm, like a ray of sunlight. a split second later, she felt the power pulce through her.

no sooner did she feel the power then she pulled away. it felt strange, having so much power running through her. it seemed to pool in her chest and rest there waiting to be used. she felt like she could do anything, right then and there. Eric nodded and smiled. "put the energy into your legs and follow me." rouge did as Eric told her and felt the energy shift from her chest to her legs. Eric smiled and nodded. "shall we?" with that Eric put power into his own legs and blasted away from the gate. a split second later rouge was by his side running just as fast as he was, wich was something considering he was move at 150MPH. about 5 minutes later both Eric and rouge skidded to a stop infront of the exo-gene buildings. Eric smiled and led the way to the building for the party. infront of the doorway, was a huge banner that read 'MUTANT PARTY TONIGHT! DONT MISS IT.' Eric smiled to himself, and shrugged.

"well they certainly are not subtle." rouge chuckled, and they made their way into the building. as they entered the lobby they found that there were 3 other people in the room. a teenaged boy. he had black hair with blue highlights, on the tips. his eye were different olors, one was green and the other was silver. he was of light build and was not very muscular. the second person was a girl about 16 years old. she had red hair with green stripes, in it. she looked a little bit similar to kitty in height and build. the thrid and final person was also a young boy about 15 years old. he was african american. tall strong looking and eyes that looked like a cats. as they entered Eric waved and shouted to them. "hey sky, Hydra, Concusion." the teens looked over and nodded to them. Eric stopped smacked himself on the forhead, and turned to rouge. "guys, this is rouge. she stays with xavier at the mansion." the others nodded, and the girl spoke. "hey Eric nice to see you."

as they made their way deepper into the building the others, and Eric began to talk. "so Eric, I heard john died. I'm sorry for your lose." Eric smiled and nodded. "thank you Hydra for the sympathy. it means a lot." a short trip later they emerged into a large room. a pile of boxes and crates sat off in a corner. the boy with different colored eyes turned to them. "ok here is the deal. we have to set up this floor. I have to go and help with the other florrs so do what you can. by the way therer will be one or two other people showing up so expect some more help." with that he walked off and left them alone. Eric smiled andleaned in to speak with rouge. "in case you are wondering the girl is hydra, and the other boy is sky." with that he walked towards the crates. as rouge followed him she could not help but blush slightly. Eric had been very close to her, so close she could have kissed him if she wanted.

as Eric opened one of the crates he got the first sight of what was in the crate. a large string of lights and wires. 'Eric smiled and pulled them out of the crate. "hey sky think you can give me a hand with this?" sky smiled, nodded and flew up into the air. Eric smiled and pushed energy into all of his cells. a second later he floated up into the air too. as Eric and sky put the lights up rouge watched them. the way Eric moved it was obvious that he was used to flying. rouge turned back to the crate and began to unload the contense. the girl next to her chuckled. rouge looked at her. "what?" the firl chuckled again, and looked at her. "you. more specificaly the way you look at Eric. you like him." rouge turned red and looked away. "I just think he is a nice person." hydra laughed again and shook her head. "no. you like him on the romantic sence. let me give you a word of advise. you and eric, never going to happen." rouge looked sharply at her. "how do you know?"

hydra shrugged. "rouge do you think no other girl has noticed that eric is drop dead hot? last count over a hundred girls have asked him out. he turned all of them down. eric is special. I'm not saying this to be mean I'm just saying dont get your hopes up." rouge scowled. "well I'm still going to try." for the next few hours, they set up the room for ther party. it was about 3 hours later that they got their first break and the next helper showed up. he was maybe 16 years old. he had black hair, and green eyes. he was tall and skinny. as he made his way over to them eric waved and called out to him. "hey, Adam nice of you to join us. after the work is mostly done!" Adam shrugged and smiled. "yeah well at least I showed-" he broke off as sky floated down from the ceiling were he had been hanging ribbons. "he Adam." Adam turned red and looked down at the floor. "hey sky." sky floated right infront of him and looked at him sideways. "you ok? you look like you have a fever." sky reached over and felt justins forhead. "jeez, your burning. you really should not be here if your sick." Adam stuudered out an exuse and shakely moved to sit next to eric. rouge watched him with mild intrest.

as Adam sat down he heard eric chuckle. "what?" eric sighed. "could you want him more?" Adam shook his head. "I...I...I dont know what your talking about." rouge moved slightly closer so she could here them better. eric rolled his eyes and motioned to sky. "you know what I'm talking about. you, Adam have a crush on him Sky." Adam moved shifted slightly. "I do not." eric laughed and shook his head. "dude, a tiger could hide its stripes better then you hide you crush." Adam looked at the floor. "OK. I have a crush on him what am I going to do?" eric looked at him glass of punch and shrugged. "the way I see it there are 3 possibilities. door number 1 you continue to hide your crush and he never knows. door number 2 you tell him and you see what happens. or my favorite, door number 3 you tell him in a way he could not possably mistake."

Adam looked towards, sky, who was floating near the ceiling. after a minute he looked back to eric. "when should I tell him?" eric shrugged. "I dont know. your best bet would be during the party, but for now dont sweat it." Adam smiled and stood up. "your right eric. I'll tell him." eric smiled and nodded. "you do that mean while, I'm going to enjoy watching you freak out anytime he gets near you." Adam raised an eyebrow and threw his drink at eric. for the next hour they continued to put stuff up. it was about 6 oclock when they stopped. eric who had been lifting the giant speakers whiped his forhead and cleaned off his hands. "well folks I say we can call it a day. the party starts in about 2 hours. we should all go back to our homes and get ready. Adam dont you go and confess anything importand while I'm not there." sky floated down from the stage and looked at Adam. "what are you confessing?" Adam turned brick red and tried to wave off the question but eric would not let him. eric flung him arm around sky and smiled.

"Oh nothing. he is just going to confess to the person he has a crush on that's all." sky flew over to Adam and flung his arm around him. "you have a crush on someone? tell me! come one tell me, pleeeeeeeeeeeease!" Adam sent eric an angry look and walked out of the building with sky following him still bagering Adam to tell him who he had a crush on. eric rolled his eyes and dragged rouge out of the building. a few minutes later they arived back at the mansion. eric waved to rouge as she left for her room, and pushed the button that turned on the intercom. "Scott, Kurt, Jean, Kitty, Rouge, Storm, Logan, get you stuff together and meet me in the garage. THE PARTY AWAITS!" eric closed the com link and made his way to the garage, and waited. a few minutes later everyone was in the garage and was getting into kurt's van. **(for those of you who never relized he had a van watch the show until you do.)** eric smiled and waved to them as he turned on his bike and pulled out of the grounds. he had a little stop to make before the party. he had to pick up Todd. a short while later Todd was sitting on the back of his bike as they sped to the party. as they pulled into the parking lot eric noticed tht kurt and the others had just arived.

eric pulled into a parking spot and felt Todd jump off his bike run over to the bushes and loose his lunch. eric smiled to himself and made his way into the building. eric walked over to one of the Tvs hanging on th wall and tapped the screen. instantly the screen saver of 3D pipes vanished to be replaced by a 3d view of the building and the floors. as he looked at the screen he heard the others, standing behind him. "each floor is a different party. since most of you are not 18 I would suggest that you stick to the floors below 15. the top 5 can be... well, roudy. if you get lost find a Tv and use it to find your way back. OH-" eric reached into his pocket and handed everyone a room key. "here you will need these to get into our rooms. were on floor 40, rooms 16, 17, 18, and 19. the rooms have 3 beds so nobody get any ideas. well have fu-" eric broke off as he heard the doors open and someone let out a small moan.

mentaly he counted to 5. once he hit 5 he felt something tackle him from behind. a second later he found himself on the floor looking up and a 20 year old wearing a black leather suit. eric smiled and looked at her. "nice to see you too feline. would you mind getting off me?" feline smiled shook her head and began to purr. eric rolled his eyes and put his hand on her stomach. with one smooth motion eric channeld power into his arm and through feline off him. feline flew up into the air twisted halfway up and landed claws out and stuck to the ceiling. feline looked at him from the ceiling and tilted her head to the side. "that was not very nice. that being said it was perrrrrfect." eric shook his head and flipped himself so he was standing up. eric smiled at the others and shrugged. "what? she is just a friend." their faces greeted him with blank stares. eric shrugged and waved them away. "who cares what you people think. look just go and have fun dont kill anyone and if you get into trouble come and find me. bye."

with that eric walked towards the elevator and punched in the floor number 11. after a ride were all he had to listen to was elevator music eric walkd out to find the party it high gear. music was blasting, lightes were flashing, and everyone was dancing. eric felt someone put their hand on his shoulder and sighed. "feline, I've told you not to do that. shall we go get something to drink?" feline nodded and they slowly made their way to the drink bar. when they finaly got there eric signaled for a server and found that it was one of his friends, from generation M. eric smiled, and nodded to the server. "hey Spectrum. you serving this year?" spectrum nodded and smiled. "hey eric what are you drinking? the usual atomic energy light vodka?" eric nodded and waited. "eric you drink?" eric smiled as he recognised the voice. eric turned and found that storm, kitty, and Todd stood behind him. eric smiled and nodded. "yeah I drink occationaly alcohol."

as they continued to stare at him he sighed and shrugged. "look the only reason the law forbids minors is because they would do something stupid. alcohol does not effect my brain like other people. I go through drunkness, intoxication, hangover and sober once again in about 2 minutes so dont sue me for ocationaly haveing a drink." storm continued to look at him. eric rolled his eyes and called spectrum back over. "second thought scratch the atomic energy. give me a can of Amantilado. (**a very very expensive wine. rarest in the world. is very tasty. has hardly any alcohol) **eric turned to storm and the others. "there happy?" storm smiled and nodded that she was indeed happy. shortly after that kitty leaned over to speak with him. "do you realy drink?" eric sighed and nodded. "yeah. I did not used to but when john died... well things went very down hill for me." spectrum who had been listening chose that time to chuckle. "it's true. when john first died eric was her slamming 15- 16 drinks in an hour. now I'm lucky if I see him once a month."

eric scowled at spectrum and smiled, to himself. it was true he had had a drinking problem when john had died, not that it made much of a difference to him. him drunk was no different then him on a power high. eric set his glass down and turned to spectrum. "so spectrum, did you hear about Adam and what he is going to do?" spectrum nodded. "yeah do you really think he is going to go through with it?" eric shrugged, and looked around. "personaly if he doesn't do it I will." spectrum raised an eyebrow at him. by now storm, kitty, and Todd had leanned in and were now listening to the conversation. "you really want him to tell sky dont you?" eric sighed, and nodded. "YES! I'm tired of them dancing around each other oblivious to the others feelings of love. wich is why if sky does not confess to Adam or if Adam does not confess to sky, I'm going to take over one of their bodies and tell the other that way."

Todd chose that moment to speak. "what are you guys talking about?" eric smiled and turned to the others. "sky is a close friend of mine. he does not know it but another one of my friends Adam has a major crush on him. now Adam is very shy and will not tell sky. what he does not know is that sky already has a big crush on him. to sum it all up, sky likes Adam and Adam likes sky. it's very funny and a little sad." strom looked at him. "just who is sky and Adam?" eric smiled. "sky is a 16 year old boy with the power of flight, and strength. Adam is also a boy and can walk through walls and other solid objects." kitty looked sideways at him for a second and then spoke in a slightly confused voice. "wait you said sky was a boy, and Adam has a crush on him, and Adam is also a boy. they're gay?" eric looked at and raised an eyebrow. "is that a problem?" kitty shook her head franticaly. "no, no, no. no problem. I... I just dont know anyone who is gay." eric smiled. kitty beleive it or not, statistics show that mutants are 45 times more likely to be gay or bi." Todd looked at him for a moment and then spoke. "are you gay?"

eric looked at him for a moment and then spoke in a careful tone of voice. "dont take this the wrong way but I dont trust you enuogh to tell you that." eric smiled and set his drink down on the bar. "spectrum I'm going find sky and Adam see you later. by the way during the day I'll be having a get together in my room. room number 19 on the 40, can I see you there?" spectrum nodded and eric smiled. "see you then." with that eric turned and left the floor. once again he found himself in the elevator listening to crappy elevator music. as the elevator moved upwards he touched the small TV screen hanging from the side. "vox, scan for mutant sig sky." the computer beeped a response. "processing request. one moment mutant sig Sky found 15th floor." a minute later eric stepped out onto the 15th floor and once again his ears were balsted with heavy music. eric smiled and mentaly scanned the crowd. he could sence sky's energy from the far end of the room.

moving through the crowd eric soon found himself on the other side of the room. looking at a slightly drunk sky. **(drunken speech)** "yur shee the problem wish love ish dat itsh show hard to tell him I love him." eric rolled his eyes and made his way towards sky. "hey sky had a few drink?" sky turned to face him and broke out in a drunken smile. "eric nish to shee yous." eric sighed and put his hand on sky's shoulder. "sky your drunk let me take you to your room." sky looked at him like he was dumb. "eric I'm completely shober." eric rolled his eyes and channeled energy into his arm. in one motion eric lifted sky of the ground and began to march sky to the elevator. he had just gotten into the elevator when sky broke free from eric's grip an d blasted through the elevator ceiling. eric sighed, it was going to be one of those nights. eric pushed off of the floor and shot through the whole sky had made. eric shot up the shaft in persute of sky. eric lept from one side of the shaft to the other like a monkey.

a few seconds later sky broke through the glass top of the shaft and flew into the night air. eric sighed and let go of the side of the shaft. skin, muscles, and organs instantly were insinerated as his body became energy. eric shot out of the shaft and into the night air. sky already had a big head start, on him. eric sped up until he was right behind sky. "sky you come back here your drunk!" sky looked back at him and stuck out his tounge. eric rolled his eyes and put some energy into his arm. a blue ball of energy flew out of his hand and hit the air were sky had been a moment before. the ball exploded in a flash of brillant blue light. sky just laughed and sped up.

**KURT'S POV**

kurt, spyke, jean, and rouge had been having a good time. after checking out what parties were on what floor they had chosen floor 4. they had chosen that floor because the map said they were having a massive gameing torniment, and sure enough they were. in the midle of the room, 4 jumbo screen Tvs were set up with halos 1, 2, and 3. on the far side of the room, call of duty, and next to the door, guitar hero. kurt had just fraged another player online when a young man ran into the room. "hey verybody, sky and eric just blasted through the elevator shaft and are now flying over metropolis come on." it was like someone flipped a switch. instantly every game paused itself as the channel chnaged to a satellite veiw of the city. in the center of the screen 2 yellow dots showed were eric and sky were. a second later eric's voice came through the speakers. "sky you come back here your drunk!" a second later both of the dots sped up. one of the teens behind kurt spoke out loud. "he yech can you get us a better picture?"

a second later another voice spoke. "yeah just giveme a moment. the exo-gene surveybots were turned on the minute they broke the glass top of the shaft. give me a moment to hack them and... there they are." the picture changed, to a following view of eric and sky. eric's body had changed and looked like it was now made up of living, moving, glowing energy. if the sensor at the side of the sreen was right they were moving at 75 Mph. eric tossed what looked like a glowing orb at sky. the orb burst when it got near him and sent a blast of light into the night. a second later eric tossed another orb this one was made of red light and when it burst it sent streams of fire into the night. "sky, get back here! I'm not going to ask you again! if you dont get back here I'm going to tell Adam your secret!" sky stopped dead. he stopped so fast eric shot passed him and had to swing around to prevent himself from hitting the building infront of him. sky looked at him. "you would not dare."

eric grinned. "sky, I've thrown people through walls for looking at me wrong. try me." sky looked at him for a moment and then looked away. "what do you care if I'm drunk?" eric sighed and floated closer to sky. "sky listen to me. I know why your drinking, you are worried that Adam wont like you anymore when you tell him that you have a crush on him. trust me on this sky, if your drunk when you tell him he wont beleive it. look sky, if worst comes to worst you tell him and he does not return your feelings. now come on before we both get sick." sky nodded. "ok let g-" sky broke off as the strain on his body became to much. sky began to fall, towards the ground. eric shot straight downward until he was level with sky's limp body. eric caught him and looked down the ground was coming up fast. eric put both of his leg down and slammed into the ground. the hit knocked all the wind out of him. eric slowly began to move. no bones were broke and his body showed no signs of damage. eric shook his head as he stood up and looked around. he was in downtown metrapolis, about 20 miles from the exo-gene complex. eric sighed, picked up sky and blasted off from the street. a few minutes later he was landing on the exo-gene roof. he lept down the broke shaft and caught himself as he sped past the 40sth floor.

eric prided the doors open and walked down the hallway. after pening his room with his card key he dumped sky onto his bed. "you stay here and think about what we taked about. in the mean time I'm going to go and party." with that he walked out of the room. kurt stood in slight shock at what he had seen on the screen. he had not known that eric could fly. from the looks on everyone elses faces they had not known either. the screens all turned back to their games and the others went back to playing. kurt, rouge, and spike stood slightly stunned. eric had shown a lot of power during the short flight of sky. not only that but he had saidf the sky a boy was afraid the Adam another guy would not share his feelings. not that kurt was surprised, he already knew that eric was gay seeing as how he had spent the night in the same bed with him. slowly kurt and the others sat back down and began to play again.

**ERIC'S POV**

eric walked down the hallway and turned to the stairways eric took the stairs down to the 13th floor and went in. the party was in full swing. up on the stage jason was singing his heart out. eric sat down at a table just as jason's song finished. a second later the doors opened and scott, kitty, rouge, kurt, storm, logan, Todd, jean and spyke walked in. eric was just thinking about leaving when jason pointed to him from the stage. "come on eric get up here and sing." eric frnatical shook his head. a second later he was grabbed from behind and thrown onto the stage. jason handed him the microphone and smiled. "dont screw up infront of your boyfriend." eric sighed and turned to the band. after giving them a mental trasfer of the song notes he turned back to the crowd. "well he goes nothing." instantly the band started with drums.

(good charlott, life styles of the rich and famous)

_only see it on tv  
read it in the magazines  
celebrities that want sympathy_

all they do is piss and moan  
inside the rolling stone  
talking about how hard life can be

Id like to see them spend the week  
livin life out on the street  
I dont think they would survive

but they could spend a day or two  
walking in someone elses shoes  
I think they'd stumble and they'd fall  
they would fall  
Fall

Lifestlyes of the rich and the famous  
theyre always complainin

_always complainin  
if money is such a problem  
well they got mansions  
think we should rob them_

well did you know when your famous you could kill your wife  
and theres no such thing as 25 to life  
as long as you got the cash to pay for cochran

and did you know if you were cought and you were smokin crack  
and McDonald's wouldnt even wanna take you back  
you could always just run for mayor of D.C.

Id like to see them spend the week  
livin life out on the street  
I dont think they would survive

but they could spend a day or two  
walking in someone elses shoes  
I think they'd stumble and they'd fall  
they would fall

Lifestlyes of the rich and the famous  
theyre always complainin  
always complainin  
if money is such a problem  
well they got mansions  
think we should rob them

Fall

Lifestlyes of the rich and the famous  
theyre always complainin  
always complainin  
if money is such a problem  
you got so many problems  
think I could solve them

Lifestlyes of the rich and the famous  
we'll take you clothes, cash cards, and homes  
just stop complainin  
Lifestlyes of the rich and the famous  
Lifestlyes of the rich and the famous  
Lifestlyes of the rich and the famous

as the music ended the crowd burst into applause. eric smiled and after he picked someone to sing got down off the stage and made his way over to the drink bar. after making sure only the tender cold hear him he ordered his drink. "white russian, no vodka, low ice, moderate calua." the tender nodded and began to mix his drink. eric turned to find that everyone was behind him. Todd spoke first. "you can sing." eric shrugged and picked up his drink as the tender slid it to him. "actualy I can hardly sing in my real voice. by changing how fast my vocal cords vibrate I can change my voice." Todd nodded and lookd out, to the crowd. scott spoke next. "hey eric while I was looking at the map I noticed the floor 39 in closed off, whay is that?" eric thought for a moment, "floor 39, floor 39, oh. floor 39 is being used for more experanced heros. like Spider Man, Dare Devil, and Blade. you know the famous heros."

spyke spoke in a shocked voice. "you mean there are world famous hero's here right now. in this building. why are we here and not there?!" eric shrugged. "exo-gene is running tests right now, but a little later if you all want I'll take you up and introduce you to them all." kitty looked stunned. "you know them!?" eric smiled. "being class 5 has its advantages." eric smiled at their stunned faces and drainned his glass. "tender another please." as eric set his glass down he felt a buz run through his body, as his body burnt off the alcohol. a few minutes later everyone had a drink, and was happily listening to the others sing. about 3 hours later a voice came out over the intercom. "attention all party people. if you make your way to the roof, or the nearest window you can see the fireworks we have aranged to go off." eric smiled, stood up, and looked at the others. "well I dont know about you guys but I'm going to the room to lay down. it's about 3 in the morning. goodnight."

eric smiled and left the others, to watch the fireworks. as the elevator took him to his room he began to get anoyyed with the music. anyone who had looked when the doors opened would have seen eric blasting the speakers in the elevator. smileing eric unlocked his room and turned off the outside sound units. instanly the room went deathly silent. the only sounds were that of his own breath and sky's who was still fast alseep. eric sighed and picked sky up using anit-gravity. genty he set sky down on the couch. eric got changed and crawled into his bed. eric smiled and nuzzeld his pillow. it felt good to lay down after several hours of standing. eric let out a small moan and quikly fell asleep. eric was woken up when the others finaly came to the room well after 4. eric smiled to himself as they got into their own beds. he had been very careful with the sleeping arangements. in his room he had himself, Todd, and logan. the room next him held, kitty, storm, and rouge. the room, passed that held, scott, jean, and kurt. a few minutes later everything was once again quiet and silent. eric smiled and fell back to sleep.

it was 11 oclock in the morning when eric woke up again. slowly eric looked around the room. the sun light was shineing through the blind and illuminated the room with little trouble. sowly eric sat up and moaned. even though he did not have a hang over his head was still pounding. slowly he made his way over to the sink and splashed cold water on his face. eric let out a moan and sunk down to the floor. the party had been fun. the chase with sky had been probably the best part of it though. it had been fun to soar through the air, and dodging the buildings. eric moaned again and shakely stood up. after plugging in the head phones to the tv eric turned it on and watched the news. eric smiled to himself as the news reprot covered his midnight flight and pursuit of sky. as the story eneded eric heard one of the others stir. taking off his head off he looked and found that Todd had woken up and was sleepily rubbing his eyes. "morning todd."

todd nodded to him and got up. after sveral minutes in the bathroom todd reappeared looking much more awake. he nodded to eric and opened up the small frig that was in the room. after a moment he pulled out a carton of milk and after digging around in the shelf he pulled out a box of cheerios. eric smiled and turned off the tv and made his way to the frig. eric smiled as he found what he was looking for. a large container of strawberries sat on the midle shelf all alone. eric smiled and pciked them up. it was an old jokethe cooks and he had going. back when he and john had been together they both loved strawberries. the first party they had gone to as a couple they had both gotten drunk. even exo-gene was not sure how he had gotten drunk but he had. they both had vanished from the party. everyone thought they were off doing 'personal' things with each other. instead they had broken into the itchen and eaten all of the strawberries in the building. that was about 500 dallors worth of berries.

since then there was a running joke with him and the cooks. eric smiled and opened the container. after he washed the berrie off he popped one into him mouth. it tasted great, perfectly sweet, and juicy. eric smiled to himself ate another berry. todd looked at him "you ok eric?" eric looked at him and smiled. "yeah I'm fine. it's just that these strawberries are really good, and they bring back memories. that's all." todd nodded and continued to eat. eric ate another berry and looked over at logan. mentaly he made a note to ask him were he had been the whole night. eric smiled to himself and moved so he was sitting on the window sill looking out over the city. the view was awsome. on the 40th floor you could see for miles. the sky was blue the grass was green and here and there he could see signs of life beginning to appear. for almost an hour he watched the city move and thrive like aliving creature. fianly at noon logan groaned and rolled out of bed litteraly.

as he went and got changed the side door to their room opened and in walked kitty, storm, and rouge, all fully dressed and awake. strom looked over at sky and shook her head. "he is still asleep?" eric nodded and moved over to the couch were sky was sleeping. "sky it's time to wake up." slowly sky put his hand on eric's chest. eric relized what he was going to do but had no time to react. sky shoved eric backwards. eric flew 10 feet through the air landed and logan's bed bounced off and hit the wall sliding down it until he came to a stop at the floor. letting out a small curses the whole time. eric shook his head and stood up. slowly he walked over to the sink and dug around underneath it. after a moment he straightened up with a mini fog horn in one hand. eric grinned and put it right next to sky's ear. "Time to wake up sky." and with that the pushed down on the horn. the noise blasted from the horn and woke sky up. sky tumbled out of the couch and fell ahrd onto the floor. he looked up and gave eric a scathing look. "bastard."

eric shrugged at put the horn away. "hey you threw me across the room, it's fair game." sky muttered an insult and pulled himself up so he was sitting. "how long have I been out for?" eric shrugged. "I dunno 9 maybe 10 hours. your collapsted in the air I had to catch you. by the way yyou and I made the news this morning with our little flight last night. sky looked away sheepishly. "yeah, hey sorry about that eric. I just dont know what I would do if he did not return my feelings." eric smiled and shrugged again. "hey dont sweat it. if he does he does, and if does not then there is nothing you can do about it." _'but he wont say no he has a crush on you.' _sky smiled to him and stood up. "thanks for the advise eric. I'd better go to my room and rest." eric nodded and looked away. "yeah. you might also want to have jason take a look at your bois. m curious as to why you fell." sky chuckled. "well when I'm drunk I can fly as well. sorry about that again by the way."

eric shook his head. "honestly sky, if you keep this up you wont live long enough to tell him how you feel." sky nodded and left the room. eric smiled to himself and looked at the others. "nice guy. little stupid at time but still nice." rouge spoke first. "o what are we going to do today?" eric shrugged. "well there is a pool in the basement if anyone wants to go swimming other then that, anything you want. most people are asleep right now recovering from the party. you might find some people up and about though. infact now that I think about it a swim sounds really nice." eric made his way over to the dresser and pulled out a set of swimming trunks and a large towel. "see you later. with that eric walked out of the room and to the elevator. once he reached the basement he got out set up his towel and looked around. they had changed the area from last time.

the large football field sized pool was in the center of the room. around it were a series of small pool of varrying temperaters, and depths. above them a massive Uv bulb lit up the place. since it was uv it would also give people a nice tan. but the bulb was speacial, it would give you a tan but no burn or anything harmfull. eric smiled to himself as he felt his body bgin to absorb the energy around him. eric set up his towel and began to look around. there were not many people there at that time. he could only see 3 others. eric smiled and lept into the pool. the moment he touched the water he wished he hadn't the water was freezing. eric felt his body begin to react. heat began to leech from his heart into the water causing it to become warm. 30 seconds after he had lept in the pool was body temperature. eric smiled to himself as he began to swim laps around the pool. he had just finished his 15th lap when he felt it. 3 pulces of mutant energy walking towards him. eric looked towards the pulces and smiled. they were some of his closest friends. not only that but they were possably the only mutants that were looked truely awsome. slowly out of the mist walked lucy, and fisk black, followed by fisk's girlfriend beth.

eric smiled. he had known them since they first joined exo-gene. infact he was the one who had brought them in. unlike most mutants fisk, lucy, and beth had physical mutations. their appearances had changed, not their minds. all three of them stood upright like a human, but they had the eyes, ears, claws, tails, and fur of cats. eric smiled and they caught sight of him. lucy spoke first. "hey eric. how you been doing?" eric swam over to the edge of the pool and shrugged. "not bad. I moved again. I'm living at the exavier school now." fisk nodded. "yeah I've heard of that place. sorry about john by the way." eric smiled. "thanks. so hey last I heard from you guys, fisk you were going to join the army. beth you were working at a 'adult novelty shop' and lucy your a reporter right?" all of them nodded. eric looked at fisk. "so how is the army going?"

fisk shrugged. "well the main branch would not let me in but section 15 did." eric raised an eyebrow. every mutant knew of section15. it was a branch of the military that was made up of only mutants, no humans. that in it selfwas not strange what was strange was how many disappearances there were within it. eric looked at fisk. "I trust you fisk but if anything happenes to you let me know I happen to have a dozen friends in the military who are just dieing to do me a favor." fisk nodded and eric looked at beth. "how are things at the porn shop?" beth huffed in annoyance. "it's not a porn shop it's an adult-" beth was cut off by eric, lucy, and fisk. "it's a porn shop." beth roled her eyes. "annnnnyway thing are not bad. one upsdide is I get to wear what I want. the downside is I have to deal with the shameful, the shamed, and the just plain shameless. other then that things are great." eric smiled, and turned to lucy. "how about you lucy. how is the fast paced world of new?" lucy shrugged. "same old, same old. nothing to report." eric nodded. "well I'm glad to hear that all of you are doing well." they nooded and after setting up their own towels they too lept into the water. after several minutes of swimming eric once again became aware of pulces heading towards them but these ones he knew very well, they were his friends from the mansion.

as they came into view eric smiled. they had taken his advise and had come down for a swim. kitty lept into the pool and began to swim around. as the others set up thier areas eric grinned. if you had looked at them right then and there you would not have seen mutants. you would have seen kids, and adults having fun at the pool. eric pushed off from the surface of the water and shot straight down to the very bottom. once there he flipped over so his feet were touching and pushed off, of the bottom. eric flew through the water passed lucy who was swimming just under the surface. eric blasted through the surface, into the open air and towards the ceiling. he was about 50 feet up when he passed something. it was little more then a blur but he could see it wore a red, and blue, outfit.eric changed direction mid flight. he took all the neergy behind him and put it infront of him. instanly he changed direction. eric shot towards the pool and hit with a oud 'splash'. water was thrown dozens of feet in the air and eric sufaced laughing.

a split second later the thing he had passed in mid air landed. a second splash sent water in every direction. a second later a man came up to the surface and gasped for air. eric shook his head and spoke. "well web head think you made a big enough entrence?" the man looked at him and shrugged. "I dunno I was thinking about having a theme song." spyke looked at him and spoke. "your... your-" the man cut him off. "yes that is right. I'm batman." eric let out a snart of laughter and smiled. "parker you have a good sense of humor." by now everyone was looking at them and had come to 1 conclution. spider man had just joined them in the pool. parker rolled his unseen eyes. he still wore his mask to the pool when here. it was more f a precaution then anything else. as far as he knew only a handful of people knew who he truly was, eric just happened to be one of those people.

for the next few hours he found himself the source of hundreds of questions. it was 1 when he finaly managed to get away and speak with eric. "we you sure have friendly company." eric chuckled. "yeah well I had to do that. it was payback for gumming my hair with web fluid last time we met. how have you been?" parker shrugged. "not bad all things aside. mary jane and I got married." eric smiled. "congradulations. when will the children follow?" parker shrugged. "I dunno." eric nodded and looked out over the room. "well if you do have children you might want to have them tested for the x-gene." parker turned to face him. "you think they will be mutants?" eric shrugged. "look all I know is mutation are genetic and your DNA is not completly human. just as a precaution." eric looked out over the room. "you just need to be ready for the possability that your baby could be able to climb walls like you." parker nodded. "I'll ask what the little woman thinks."

it was about 5 in the afternoon when everyone made their way back up to their rooms. for the next hour they all just sat around talked and played games. it was 8 when the party began again. eric made his way through the crowds on the 14th floor. the entire floor had been converted into a huge car show. dozens of cars were spread across the room. as eric neared the far end he found his bike had been put on display. grinning to himself he opened one of the side pockets and pulled out a small foulder. shortly after that eric left the floor and found himself once again in the elevator. after getting off on the 3rd floor, he made his way to the lab. as he entered he found bio sitting at a desk and looking at a computer screen. "you know there is a party right?" bio looked at him. "yeah. but this can not wait." eric looked at the screen.

the screen showed a strand of DNA. as he watched the DNA began to warp and bend until finaly it seemed to shatter into hundreds of fragments. bio sighed and turned away from the screen. "this is the effects of the nova virrus. it breaks down mutant DNA. not only that but the mutants body begins to deterorate at an accelerated speed. death usually follows in 1 or 2 days after contracting it." eric shook his head. "bummer. here is the info you wanted on the resent trend of mutaion strains. why did you need this?" bio smiled. "I would have thought that was obvious. allow me to explain, as you and I know no 2 mutants are exactly the same just as no 2 fingerprints are the same. each mutant strand is different but I'm looking for simialrities. if I cold find similar splits in the DNA I could find the basis for all mutations. with that information I could predict waht mutations a person would have and how sever it would be." eric let out a low whistle. "well you know I'm here to help but all things aside bio you should get some rest. you look horrible." bio nodded and stod up. "alright. I'll go for a coffee run but if anything happenes to this lab while I'm gone you have to lock down the building." eric nodded and watched bio leave, as he followed close behind him.

as eric watched bio leave he smiled. bio was a bit of a workoholic. when he got something good he would stay up for days working on it. only when exhastion took its tole on him and would cause him to stop. eric smiled to himself as he saw bio's car drive out of the parking lot. eric smiled and made his way to the 15th floor. after the doors opened eric made his way over to the bar and ordered a drink. he could just see kurt, rouge, storm, and spyke sitting at a table watching the other people dancing. when eric got his drink he made his way over to them and sat down. it was only then that he noticed the extra persn sitting at the table. "hey gambit what's up?" gambit looked at his and grinned. "oh you know not much. your friends here were just saying 'hi'. they seem like nice people." eric nodded and looked around. all around them people were dancing and having a good time. eri grinned as an idea popped into his head. smileing to himself he downed his drink and made his way up onto the stage. after menatly giving the band the notes to play eric grabbed the microphone and spoke. "this song goes out to all you people."

(santana, into the night)

Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell,  
It was love from above, that could save me from hell,  
She had fire in her soul it was easy to see,  
And the devil himself could be pulled out of me,  
There were drums in the air as she started to dance,  
Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands,  
And we sang...

Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,  
And the voices rang like the angels sing,  
Were singing...  
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,  
And we danced on into the night,  
Ay oh ay oh  
And we danced on into the night,

Like a piece to the puzzle that falls into place,

You could tell how we felt from the look on our face,  
She was spinning in circles with the moon in our eyes,  
The room left them moving between you and I,  
We forgot where we were and we lost track of time,  
And we sang to the wind as we danced through the night,  
And we sang...

Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,  
And the voices rang like the angels sing,  
Were singing..  
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,  
And we danced on into the night,  
Ay oh ay oh

And we danced on into the night,  
Ay oh ay oh  
And we danced on into the night,

Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell,  
It was love from above, that could save me from hell,  
She had fire in her soul it was easy to see,  
And the devil himself could be pulled out of me,  
There were drums in the air as she started to dance,  
Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands,  
And we sang...

Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,  
And the voices rang like the angels sing,  
Were singing...  
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,  
And we danced on into the night,  
Ay oh ay oh ay,  
Ay oh ay oh  
And we danced on into the night,  
Ay oh ay oh,  
Ay oh ay oh,  
And we danced on into the night,  
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,  
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,  
Singing ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,  
Ay oh ay oh  
And we danced on into the night..

as eric finished his song the whole room cheered him. smilling eric hopped down from the stage and made his way back over to the table. as eric sat down gambit smiled at him and nodded. eric smiled and looked around. he was about to order another drink when his phone rang. eric got up and made his way over to the bathroom were after checking the stalls, he pulled it out and answered. "hey this is eric. who is this?" a moment later a voice came through. **"eric it's bio I need you to do me a favor." **eric nodded to himself and looked around. "sure this bio what do you need?" there was silence for a moment and then bio's voice spoke. **"I need you to go into my lab and activate the security system. turn the awaerness up to maximum. I'm comeing back right now." **"bio what has happened? what has you so worried?" **when I got home I tunred on my laptop and found that someone had hacked it and taken dozens of exo-gene and private files. eric some of them were on your genetic structure. you hyave to act fast so they cant get my work files." **"alright I'll call you when I'm done." with that eric hung up the phone and made his way to the elevator.

he had just gotten into the booth when logan and spyke forced their way through the crowd and joined him. logan looked at him with a questioning look. "were are you going?" eric looked around nervously. "bio just called me and said someone hacked his home computer. he wants me to turn on all the security in his lab. if you want you can come with." logan shrugged and spyke nodded. as the elevator moved down a small keypad popped out from under the floor buttons. as eric punched in the password her recided it in a whisper. ".5.1.4." no sooner had he finished the password then the elevator jerked to a halt. eric looked at the others. "you might want to hang on to something." spyke was about to ask why when the elevator shot downwards. it felt like the elevator had been cut loose. less then 30 seconds later the elevator jerked to a halt.

as the doors opened eric tensed his body. he coud feel residual energy from someone or something. a split second later he heard logan pop his claws and spyke grow his spikes. slowly eric stepped into the room. even as he did so he began to charge his arms and legs for combat. as eric moved deeper into the lab he could feel eyes burning into the back of his skull. slowly eric turned on the spot, taking in the whole lab into his memory. only after he had done that did he act. "cortana turn on lab lights." a split second later a female voice cut through the silence. "sorry, there is a malfunction in the power grid. main lights are inoperative. activating emergency lights." a the amber lights tunred on eric took a deep breath and sighed. the lab was trashed. files lay scatered across the floor, computer monitors were smashed and lay broke around the room. tables had been upturned and chemicals slowly leaked out onto the floor their contense mixing and glowing slightly.

eric slowly made his way to the middle of the lab and to the security panel. eric entered his password and turned on the security system. a split second later the lab doors burst open and bio charged into his lab. "OH MY GOD! WHAT HAPPENED?!" eric shrugged, but then tensed and pointed his pointer finger at bio. energy began to crackle and sizle at the tip of his finger. bio skidded to a halt and put up his hands in a defensive manner. "eric what the hell are you doing?!" eric grinned. "simple, I dont think your bio. what is something only the real bio would know?" bio rolled his eyes. "eric we dont have time for this. the lab could be rigged to explode. if we dont leave now we could all die." eric shrugged, and blasted bio with the energy in his finger. the wave of energy hit bio in the midle of his sholder, tore through his flesh, bone, and muscle and threw him to the ground were lay bleeding. "and that was your fatal mistake. if you were the real bio you would know that I could absorb any explosion. not only that but I could save us all." slowly eric walked toward the bleeding fake bio and smiled. "then again, if you are bio then you should be abale to heal anything I can do to you."

the fake bio's face contorted in anger and then began to change. the skin began to crawl like there was dozens of bugs under his skin. even as eric watched his skin turned ghost white and his eyes changed from bio's emerald to a vivid cal like yellow. half a minute later a man with ghost skin lay bleeding on bio's lab floor. eric smiled and grabbed the man. eric lifted him off the floor and threw him into a file cabinet. in a flash eric grabbed him again and slammed him back against the file cabinet. "you have about 3 seconds to tell me who you are, what your doing, and who sent you." the man grinned and spat in his face. eric grinned, and put his hand against the mans head. "that's fine dont tell me. I just need you to THINK."

it happened in a split second. the energy from the man's brain was pulled out of it and absorbed into eric's body. instantly he knew what had happened. this man was named Many, for his ability to changes his form at will. he had been aproched by a man covered in shadows and he had given him a job. in return for 5 million dollars he was to break in and find files about eric's genetic structure and how his body assimilated the energy it absorbed. eric grimaced and shoved the man to the ground. "you did not know what you were doing and for that I wont kill you. but you will be going to a prison for people like us. there you woill not be able to escape." sas eric finished speaking the lab doors opened again and another bio charged in.

he looked around and then saw eric and the others. "eric what the hell. you know only authorized personal are alowed in the lab!" eric rolled, his eyes. "bio I just shot one man. I could just as easily do it to you too." bio crossed his arms and smirked. "eric you need me to examin your DNA. so dont you threaten me." eric shrugged. "what ever. are you going to call security or will I have to take this man to Iron lock myself?" bio shook his head and ran to the panel. "security I need 2 teams in lab 56 ASAP. I also need an anti morph serium and a set of arm and leg binders." a few moments later 6 men entered the lab. they pulled the many way from eric and put what looked like handcufs on him. no sooner had the cufs closed then energy sparked between then and bound his arms and legs together. bio then injected a greenish liquid into his nack and followed the men out of the room.

eric turned to the others. "logan spyke, you have to do me a few favors. 1, you cannot tell anyone what lab this is. 2 you cannot reveil what you heard in this room. do I make my self clear?" both of them nodded and eric smiled. "great. well shall we, the party should be winding down. it's about midnight now." spyke glanced at his watch and saw that eric was right. "hold up. it was 10 when we came in. how could so much time have passed?" eric shrugged. "bio built his lab with 4th dimention geometry. time passes much faster in here. depending on what is happening. now come on lets go." as they left eric took oe last look around the lab. he still had one burning question in his head. why would someone steal files on him? sure he was strong and powerful but other then that he was no different then any other mutant.

**UNKNOWN LOCATION**

3 shadowy figure stood on top of a roof looking out over the exo-gene complex. slowly the tallest one turned and spoke to the others. "did you do as you were told?" the midle one bowed and then nodded. "yes master. I placed the bomb under his vehicle. when he starts it up it will explode. not even he will be able to survive the blast." the tall one grinned to himself. "good. if all goes acording to the plan, we should be able to take out all of the targets by this time next month. but there is one thing that worries me." the tall man paused to gether his thoughts. "what if he is more powerful then we expected. what if he does survive the blast and he reveiles our existance and our plan?" the short one stepped forward. "master he will NOT survive the blast. it has been rigged to kill anything in it's radius. not one atom of him will be left." slowly the tall one turned back to look at the buildings again. "then all shall be as it should. the both of you pray this works. my tolerance for failure is not large. if you fail I will be unhappy." the other 2 looked at each other and gulped. "come let us away." with that all 3 of them vanished.

**SCOTT'S POV**

scott, kitty, and jean were having a great time. they had all danced for what felt like hours and now they were sitting and enjoying the music. "hey." all of them looked and found that a young man had sat down next to them. he had mousey hair, and looked slightly nervous. "your the friends that eric brought right.? jean nodded. the man looked around and then leaned closer to them. "just a friendly bit of advise for you, dont let your guard down around eric." kitty raised and eyebrow. "what do you mean?" the man rolled his eyes. "I mean what I said. dont let your guard down around eric. you might just find he is not as trustworthy as you may think." scott stared at him for a moment and then spoke. "care to elaborate?" the man looked terrified but spoke as though he was possessed to do so. "about 2 months ago 15 of the world's top scientists in the fields of energy vanished." the man snapped his fingers "just like that no evidence was ever found. no evidence of natural deaths, no evidence of foul play, nothing. all of them were working on the same project. a robot that could beat eric should he ever turn on us. naturaly the cops interviewed eric and later ruled him out as a suspect but..." the man looked around and then leaned in closer.

"the same day eric was cleared as a suspect, a record of eric's bank acount records was found. he had trasfered, 5 million dollars to a private contractor (mercenaries) less then 3 days before the scientists dissapeared. it's said that he has them all locked up somewere were no one could possably find them. some say they're in the himalayas. others say they're in the sahara desert. there are even some who say eric had them trapped in a pocket verse, so they could never build the robot. only one thing is known for certain. the plans for the robot have never been found, and eric still denies ever knowing about their plans." the man looked up and his eyes widened. scott looked up and saw what was scaring the man. logan and spyke had all just walked into the room and were now at the bar ordering drinks. eric waved at them as the doors to the elevator closed and he went to a different floor. the man grabbed scott by the front of his jacket and pulled his so close that scott could smell the drink on the man's breath. "don't ever give him a reason to be suspicious of you. never give him a reason. if you do, you might just find your self joining those scientists in what ever hell eri has built for them." with that the man let go of scott, and seemed to be swallowed up the reality.

**ERIC'S POV**

eric leaned against the wall as the elevator pulled him up to the roof of the building. he needed to get outside. as it was he was running low on energy. unlike every other place on the planet bio's labs were al sheilded from his absorbing effect. as a result, when he used his powers in there he was running off what he had storred. as the elevator stopped eric sighed. there were few people who could use the information that had been stolen. from what he had seen at the lab and heard from bio on the ohone the only info that had been taken was related to his molecular structure. that was to say how he absorbed energy and how his body stored and used it, once it was absorbed. slowly eric walked out onto the roof and sat down on the edge of the building. 40 stories below him the city continued to bustle and thrive oblivious to his existance.

for a while he toyed with the idea of the government but soon scrapped the idea. if the government whated the intell on him they would have simply asked for it. maybe it was the shadow broker. yes, that would make more sense. the shadow broke was a mysterie. he was a mutant that bought and sold not items but information to the highest bidder. no one knew who he was, in fact no one knew if he was a boy of a girl. eric stood up his heart beginning to pound more violently. the shadow broke was ruthless, once he heard something interesting he would use who ever and what ever means to get the information. but that was not the worst part, when he got the information anything was fair game. it did not matter if it would cause millions of deaths or not, he would sell the information to the highest paying client.

it was only then that eric remembered something. when bio had first stared collecting date on him he had place a bug in the information. if it was gone from his lab for more then half and hour the bug wold erase all the data and then destroy itself. slowly eric sank back down to the to his seat. no whoever had stollen the data would not be able to get much out of it. in fact they only had about 6 minutes before the buged 'hatched' and began to erase the data. "penny for your thoughts?" eric jumped about a foot in the air. storm and snuck up behind him and was now leaning on the ledge looked at him. eric smiled and shook his head. "no storm you dont need to pay to hear my thoughts. I'm just worried. someone broke in and stole some very dangerous information on me. I'm just woundering who could have done it." storm nodded and sat down next to him. "i've been meaning to ask you. how are things with you and kurt going?"

eric sighed and did not speak for a moment. "honestly, I dont think he likes me in that way. he did bring me back and I'm greatfull but... he is hurting me and himself. one moment he tells me he needs time to think the next he is climbing into my bed at night, and then the next he is scared of me." eric sighed and looked away from storm to the full moon, that was now in the center of the night sky. "I dont mind his undecidedness. when my first boyfriend justin asked me out I was very nervous and scared. I did not know what to think. on one hand he made me feel safe and happy whenever we were together, but on the other hand I knew my parents did not like me hanging out with him. those feelings would have ton me apart if justin had not died. it was at his burial that I final was able to come to terms with my feelings. it may sound horrible but I think only through justin's death was I able to finaly be honest with myself. do you understand?"

storm smiled and nodded. "yes i do understand. back in africa I had a crush on a young boy named Asani. he was strong, fast, and smart. when ever I was around him my powers would flare up. because of this he and I were not allowed to see each other." storm broke off as an amussed look spread across her face. "that never stopped us though. we were both in love from the moment we saw each other. he... he was my first." storm broke off as her faced turned slightly red and she looked away. after several moments of her blushing eric cleared his throut. storm looked up and shook her head to rid it off the red blush now spread across it. "anyway about a month before I moved here he died in a hunting acident. I felt so sad that I vowed never to use my powers again, thinking it would be an insult to his memory. after i moved here the professor found me and now here I am. ahppy, and using my powers for the good of us all. powers dont make us good or evil. power can never choose for us the path we follow. even those with terrible powers can be good. it all depended on how they are used." eric nodded. "and this was all beofre you developed a huge crush a logan?"

storm looked at him sharply. "how do... I dont know what your talking about." eric rolled his eyes. "alright if you dont want to talk about it fine. but I will just say this I dont think he has a clue. you need to let him know you like him." eric smiled and stood up. the moon was setting and off in the east he could just feel the sun's first rays beginning to peak over the planet. "I'm off to bed, goodnight." with that eric turned and made his way back down through the building to his room. as eric climbed into his bed he could just hear people moving outside of his room. half a second later he was fast asleep.

000000000000000000000000000000000

A:N) well folks there it is. I hope you all liked it. give me reviews.


	8. final party

_storm looked at him sharply. "how do... I dont know what your talking about." eric rolled his eyes. "alright if you dont want to talk about it fine. but I will just say this I dont think he has a clue. you need to let him know you like him." eric smiled and stood up. the moon was setting and off in the east he could just feel the sun's first rays beginning to peak over the planet. "I'm off to bed, goodnight." with that eric turned and made his way back down through the building to his room. as eric climbed into his bed he could just hear people moving outside of his room. half a second later he was fast asleep_.

**CHAPTER 8**

**KURT'S POV**

kurt slowly made his way to his room. he had dance for so long his feet and legs felt like rubber. after stubling around for about a hour he finaly decided that he had had enough and it was time for bed. slowly he made his way to his scott's, and jean's room. he had just gotten done changing when jean spoke to him. "kurt can I ask you something?" kurt nodded. "when your at the mansion do you sleep with you image inducer on?" kurt shook his head. "no it drains the power to fast. plus there is no need. goodnight. kurt shakely moved to his bed and fell onto it. his eyes were closed, and he was asleep before he hit the sheets.

**KURT'S DREAM**

he was in beyview high. he was currently walking down the science hallway. he had just passed mister deVries's biology room when he heard it. it was a faint crackling, popping noise. like when you pull a string of live wires from a socket. out of pure habit he looked down at his watch/ holoinducer. sure enough it had short circuted. even as he saw this the hologram was beginning to fade and faulter. his arms were the first thing to change. his 5 fingered hands changed to his blue 3 fingered hands. people began to stop and look at him with miled intrest. then his legs began to shift. they began to become longer and skinnier. kurt frantical looked around for a way to hide. he could not see anyway to get away before anyone saw his true form. half a second later his fear became reality as the final part of his hologram failed. kurt's face, and chest both became vissable, and the watch finaly died, but that was not the worst of it.

no the worst part became clear as the hologram failed. no the worst part was he became aware that he was naked. people all around the halls stopped and began to point and laugh at him. his mind screamed at him to move but his body would not respond. he stood frozen in place as everyone laughed at him. he was about to try teleporting when he relized the laughter was becomeing quieter. infact a few seconds later there was not one sound. slowly kurt slooked around and then relized he could move. the scene was frozen in place. the people in the hallway stood frozen and pointing. several of them had their mouths open halfway through laughing at him. he was about ready to look for a set of clothing when he heard someone speak from behind him. "they laugh because they cannot see what a beutiful person you are." kurt whipped around only to find that there was no one there. his voice shook as he called out to the now strangly empty hallway.

"show your self." there was silence for a moment and then the voice answered back. "if you want to see me then you have to 'want' to see me." kurt whipped back around and found that once again no one was there. "were are you?" again the voice spoke. "I'm were ever you want me to be." kurt slowly moved down the hallway. everyone in the school was frozen, were they stood. "yes. everyone is effected." kurt whipped around, why cant I see you?" a moment later the voice spoke again. "let me put it this way... this is your dream. due to this little fact you can control it in anyway you want. for this reason your mind is also a very powerful weapon. since your naked right now you dont want to be seen. due to that little want, you cant see me. however if you were to, oh I dont know dream up some clothes." a second later kurt's face blossomed scarlet.

kurt wished more then anything at that moment that he had clothes. no sooner had he thought this then clothes popped into existance around his naked form. the voice chuckled. "you see, mind over matter. this is your dream you control what happens and how it happens. why dont you pick a better place, say the mansion at sun set." kurt closed his eyes and thught of the mansion at sun set. when he opened his eyes he found that he was standing on the roof and the golden sun vanished behind the mountains. slowly kurt turned around looking for the source of the voice. "why can't I see you?" a split second later he heard the voice again. "you can." kurt whiped around and found himself looking at eric. "why do you take the form of eric?" eric chuckled, and looked around. "kurt I can take any form you want. I'm in this form because in your sub-concious your thinking about him and because of this I take his form."

kurt back up and tried to change the strangers form. but no matter how hard he tried eric stayed infront of him. eric grinned and folded his arms in front of him. "you can't will me away kurt. this may be your dream but you forget. dreams are just extra brainwaves left over from events of the day. brain waves are just energy waves, waves I can absorb. I'm eric's sub-concious thoughts in a physical form. you can't will me away beacause, Your mind is not strong enough. now if I were to apear in xavier's or jean's dreams well both of them are physic. they could shove me out of their dreams with ease. but for now I feel there must be a reason you have called me here." kurt took another step backwards. "I dont now what you mean." eric sighed. "kurt if you had not wanted to talk to me I would not be here. mind over matter can work both ways. it can help you or it can hurt you."

kurt sighed and looked around. "eric how is it that you are able to be in my dreams, and yet I cant will you way?" eric grinned. "I'm glad you asked. you cant will me away because I'm not fully here. this is just an impresion my powers leave on your mind. not only that but you dont actualy want me to leave. hence I cant not until you say what it is you have to say." kurt looked around, and sat down on the roof. "eric I dont know what it is we are supposed to talk about." eric smiled and moved a little closer to kurt. "maybe we are not ment to talk, maybe we are ment to sit up here and watch the sun set." kurt looked and found that indeed the sun was very close to setting. sighed kurt looked back at eric. "alright."

as the sun set kurt had dozens of thoughts running through his head. he was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he did not notice eric mving subtly closer to him. kurt felt a shiver move up his spine as eric's hand moved over his. slowly kurt's gaze moved from that of the sun setting to that of eric's face. in eric's defence he was doing a good job of being subtle. his face was still turned towards the sun set but he had a small smile on his face. slowly eric turned from the sun set to kurt. kurt had on a strange look on his face. it was a look of happiness and confusion. eric sighed and pulled kurt closer to him. "dont worry I'll protect you." slowly kurt and eric leaned closer to each other. but this time was to be different. at the last moment kurt pushed eric at the last moment causing him to fall onto his back. kurt smaled and then 'bamfed' on top of eric, waging his finger. "not on the first date."

eric grinned and leaned forward so kurt could hear him. "dont flatter yourself. I'm taking." with that eric rolled kurt over so he was on his back. a split second later kurt felt eric's lips seize his. kurt felt a warm shudder roll up his spine as eric kissed him. slowly eric broke away from kurt, who whimpered at the loss. eric smiled and rolled over again so he was now under kurt. a oment later kurt's lip found his. after several minutes of kissing they broke apart. eric grinned, and spoke. "see was that so bad?" kurt shook his head. eric pulled his even closer. "Kurt I wont do anything to hurt you. I'm not going to tell anyone. it's your secret to tell. I leave it up to you." kurt smiled and began to nuzzle eric's neck. after amoment he stops and looks at him. "eric, I love you." eric smiles and kisses him again. "I love you too, Kurt Wagner."

**REALITY**

when kurt woke it ws to an empty room. the clock on the nightstand read 2 oclock in the afternoon. kurt let out a disapointed moan. it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. he had finaly told eric that he wanted them to be together. kurt was about to get up when he heard some outside the door. "no don't worry I'll wake him up." a moment later the door opened and eric walked in. eric made his way over to kurt bed were he sat down and smiled to himself. he looked so peacefull laying there pretending to be asleep. eric smiled and stood up. "kurt you need to get up." kurt let out a moan and rolled over. eric sighed, so kurt was one of _those_ pretenders. eric sighed and grabbed the end of the sheets and with one move he pulled them away from the bed. kurt let out a yelp as he slid a few inches with the sheets. looking up at eric he grinned and then threw his pillow at him. eric smirked as the pillow arched over him and hit the wall. "that was mature. wake up it's 2 in the afternoon and were all having a party next door." eric then smirked and vanished into thin air.

kurt had just gotten up to see were he had gone when he felt something touch his lips. in a flash eric had him in a hug and was kissing him. kurt's body went limp as eric held him close still kissing him. a moment later kurt and eric borke apart both breathing heavily. eric grinned and made his way to the door. as he put his hand on the door knob he looked back at kurt. "hey kurt?" kurt smiled and looked at him. "yes?" eric grinned. "you might want to get rid of that roll of quarters you have." with that he opened the door and left. kurt sat on the bed for a full ten seconds before what eric had said made sence. then all at once kurt's face went bright red and he looked down. sure enough he was 'ready' to 'perform'.

about 20 minutes later kurt left the room and made his way next door. like eric had said there was a masive party in full swing. kitty, rouge and spyke were currently sitting infront of the big screen TV playing halo3. next to them scott and jean sat watching. logan and storm were leaning against the wall talking in private. eric was sitting in a bean bag chair chatting with three other people. all thre of them looked like humaniod cats, 2 girls and one boy. as kurt made his way over he became aware of what eric was wearing. eric had on a set of camo jeans, and fish net shirt and a set of metal dogtags. the boy cat sitting next to his wore what looked like a military uniform. the girl next to him wore a jet black tube top with black cargo pants and fish net gloves and arm warmers. next to her the girl wore a peach colored shirt with standard blue jeans.

kurt grinned as he sta down next to eric. eric stopped talking and smiled at him. "Fisk, lucy, beth this is kurt wagner. kurt this is lucy(peach shirt), beth(black pants), and Fisk (uniform)." kurt nodded and shook hands with everyone. Fisk spoke first. "so your kurt. eric was just telling us about you. until you came along we all thought we were the only one's to have full body mutations, nice to know that is not true. kurt nodded and smiled. "I have to admit I'm as surprised as you are." eric stood up. "I'll be right back, I need more ice for my soda." as eric left beth chuckled. "so your the one eric's has as a boyfriend?" kurt looked at her sharply. "what?" beth shrugged. "there is no need to play dumb, we know. he didn't tell us by the way. all of our noses are hyper sensitive. when ever eric is around you his pherimone levels jump. it means eric wishs you to be his mate." kurt looked around sheepishly. lucy chuckled. "beth, Fisk leave him alone. honestly we dont have a problem with it. just dont break his heart or we break your neck."

kurt looked around. "I'm surprised eric likes parties as much as he does." beth shrugged and smirked. "of course he likes parties. the noise, the heat, the different kinds of energy. a party is eric's idea of an all you can eat beffet. eric can get huge amounts of energy from a party. during the exo-gene parties, eric can feed until he has reached his fill."kurt shrugged. "that would make sense." kurt was about to speak when eric came back and sat down. as eric sat down Fisk spoke. "so eric I heard that exo-gene finaly completed your symbiot." eric nodded. "yep I'm now 99.9 radiation free. of course I still give off a little radiation but no more then any noraml person. I have to tell you it feels great." lucy nodded and grinned. "well we all know how bad it was for you back then. back when you stayed with us for a week you would not sleep in the house." eric nodded and grinned sheepishly. "yeah well you already are very different. I didn't want you to glow in the dark too. by the way lucy how is tommy?" lucy smiled. "he is doing great he's working on a project right now so that is why he could not make it."

eric nodded and shrugged. "we I know better then anyone how work can keep you from social events." lucy grinned and shrugged. "well you know him. when he gets an idea in his head there is nothing in this world that can keep him from it." eric smiled and nodded. he was about to speak when the PDA turned on. "attention the final party is about to start. afterwards we will be having a fireworks display, and then clean up. please feel free to stay and help. that is all." eric grinned and stood up. "well shall we?" everyone nodded and they made their way to their favorite floors. kurt, eric, rouge, kitty, strom, logan, and scott made their way to the 12th floor. when the doors opened their eardrums were instantly hit with loud music. as the others grabbed a table eric went to get drinks.

as eric sat down and began to hand out the drinks jean spoke to Fisk, and lucy. "so how long have you all known eric? Fisk spoke first. "well eric was the one who told us about exo-gene. before then were just trying to fit in. now because of eric we have friends, and people who can help us thrugh our cat problems." scoot looked at them all. "are you all related?" beth shook her head. "actualy no. if you were to look at our DNA you would find that there are small differences in them. for instance, I have faster reflexes then lucy but she has better fur then I do." scott nodded. as eric got up to speask with an old friend scott voiced a question he had had on his mind for a while. "maybe you can tell us. just how powerfull is eric?" Fisk spoke. "there is a saying here. eric is the atomic child he has an atom bomb in every cell. even though he says it jokingly it is actualy true. one of eric's cells has the same amount of energy as an atomic bomb. if he wanted he could end all life on this planet, god knows his heart could do it with ease. infact only 2 thin magnetic fields keep his heart in check.s" scott nodded and stayed silent, for a while no one spoke. then from up on the stage eric's voice rang out. "alright since this is the last night sooooooo I'm going out with a bang!"

(thriller, micheal jackson)

Its Close To Midnight And Something Evils Lurking In The Dark  
Under The Moonlight You See A Sight That Almost Stops Your Heart  
You Try To Scream But Terror Takes The Sound Before You Make It  
You Start To Freeze As Horror Looks You Right Between The Eyes,  
Youre Paralyzed

You Hear The Door Slam And Realize Theres Nowhere Left To Run  
You Feel The Cold Hand And Wonder If Youll Ever See The Sun  
You Close Your Eyes And Hope That This Is Just Imagination  
But All The While You Hear The Creature Creepin Up Behind  
Youre Out Of Time

Night Creatures Call  
And The Dead Start To Walk In Their Masquerade  
Theres No Escapin The Jaws Of The Alien This Time  
(Theyre Open Wide)  
This Is The End Of Your Life

Theyre Out To Get You, Theres Demons Closing In On Every Side  
They Will Possess You Unless You Change The Number On Your Dial  
Now Is The Time For You And I To Cuddle Close Together  
All Thru The Night Ill Save You From The Terror On The Screen,  
Ill Make You See

That This Is Thriller, Thriller Night  
Cause I Can Thrill You More Than Any Ghost Would Dare To Try  
Girl, This Is Thriller, Thriller Night  
So Let Me Hold You Tight And Share A Killer, Diller, Chiller  
Thriller Here Tonight  
Cause This Is Thriller, Thriller Night  
There Aint No Second Chance Against The Thing With  
Forty Eyes  
You Know Its Thriller, Thriller Night  
Youre Fighting For Your Life Inside Of Killer, Thriller Tonight

Cause This Is Thriller, Thriller Night  
And No Ones Gonna Save You From The Beast About Strike  
You Know Its Thriller, Thriller Night  
Youre Fighting For Your Life Inside A Killer, Thriller Tonight

Darkness Falls Across The Land  
The Midnite Hour Is Close At Hand  
Creatures Crawl In Search Of Blood  
To Terrorize Yawls Neighbourhood  
And Whosoever Shall Be Found  
Without The Soul For Getting Down  
Must Stand And Face The Hounds Of Hell  
And Rot Inside A Corpses Shell  
The Foulest Stench Is In The Air  
The Funk Of Forty Thousand Years  
And Grizzy Ghouls From Every Tomb  
Are Closing In To Seal Your Doom  
And Though You Fight To Stay Alive  
Your Body Starts To Shiver  
For No Mere Mortal Can Resist  
The Evil Of The Thriller

as the song ended the crowed went wild with cheers and applaus. eric waved and grinned as he got off stage and made his way over to the table. he was almost there when he felt someone grab his arm. turning on the spot eric found that it was jason. "jason what's up?" jason looked around and then turned back to him. "bio wants to talk with you. he says he has found out what files were taken from his lab." eric nodded, and jogged over to tell the others were he would be. after doing so eric made his way to the elevator and made his way down to bio's lab. as the elevator doors opened eric could not help but grin. technitions were everywere reapiring the gadgets, and computers through out the lab. as eric neared bio he could see that he was in the middle of a video conference. he was about talk to one of the techs when bio turned and waved him over.

eric glanced up at the video screens. he recognized half of the people on them. there was Austin from Italy, Mack from Europe, and chen from china. eric glanced at bio. "what's going on?" bio crossed his arms and looked around. "total chaos, that's what is going on. since our little insident last night I had every extention of exo-gene run a full file sweep to see if anything was there that was not supposed to be. guess what we found?" eric shurgged. "I dunno, you found atlantis." bio rolled his eyes and sighed indignatly. "no. we found that since we had our break in there have been 12 others in the last 24 hours. in fact we have determind that they were all pulled off in the same way. a shape shifter was used to get in and steal the information." eric leaned against bio's desk. "how did we catch them?" bio shook his head. "we didn't. the only reason we know this is because our security cameras showed them changing as the left our buildings. eric we have no leads on who is doing this. all the burglers have the same story."

eric shrugged. "and that is." bio looked very upset, as he spoke. "a man approched them. his face was covered in shadow. he payed them 2,000 dollars to steal the information. we think who ever is doing this has an old score to settle with you. everything that has been taken has been related to you in some way. most of them have been on your molecular or biological structures. that being said we have all guessed that who ever is doing this is building a weapon, based on what else was stollen. mark IV combat drones from tokyo, conversion tables from italy, experimental bonding agents from japan, and most dangerously high powered magnetic field generators from right here in the USA. eric who ecver is doing this will have a very powerfull robot to fight you with. right now we need your aprovale." eric looked around. "aproval for what?" bio sighed and looked uneasy. "we want to reopen project triple-A." eric lept to his feet.

"are you INSANE!! you cant do that. reopening that project could destroy the ex-volenteers. I wont allow you to do it." bio sighed. "I told them you would say that but they said I had to ask. I agree with you eric. I saw what that did to it's subjects, nervous system defects, permenate nerve damage and scarring, insanity, death." bio looked at the monitors. "project triple-A was permantly closed due to the lack of success." bio stopped talking as a light flashed next to chen's screen. "what was project triple-A?" eric sighed. "project triple-A was cooked up by the government and military. they wanted to see if they could create more people with eric's powers. they wanted take volenteers and mutate them with radiation to give them eric's powers. not one of the subjects survived the mutation. most of them suffer permanate nerve damge. the lucky one are dead. it was for that reason that exo-gene closed it down under the mutant act 39. no human has the right to force a mutation on another human. willingly or other wise."

chen nodded to himself. eric sighed. "truth be told the military hasd requested that they study me hundreds of times. I know what they would do with that information. they will build weapons with it, weapons they will then use to take over other countries. I can let exo-gene study me bacause I have full control over what is done with the information." eric broke off as someone ran up to bio and began to speak to him in private. shortly after theat the man left and bio rubbed his eyes. "fine bloody tastic." eric looked at him. "what?" bio sighed. "that was a message from the pentigon. they want to declare a state of emergency in reaction to these break-ins." eric stood if it was possable ever straighter. after a moment of thought he spoke. "tell them no. there is no need for that. decaring the emergency would only hurt them further. from what we know who ever is doing this is only interested in me. so as long as there are no other mutants like me we're fine." bio nodded and smiled. "I always said there was a poplitican in your head."

eric shrugged. "maybe, but I dont like politics." bio smiled and nodded. "fair enough. well you can go now if you want." eric smiled and stood up. "well thank you for the heads up, bio." as eric stepped into the elevator he could just make out the sounds of bio resuming the conversaytion with thye others. as the elevator slid upward eric began to think. the shadow broker would not be going to this length for information. no the lengths, that were being taken were extreme. it was common knowledge that eric had enemies, from the villans he had beaten to the terrorist group HYDRA that had tried to use him as a bomb, it was common knowledge he had enemies. as the doors opened eric was so deep in thought he did not see feline charge at him. he did however feel when she hit him full foce slamming him against the wall.

eric grumbled as he picked himself up from the floor with feline still clinging to him. eric sighed and shook his whole body, from side to side. feline was thrown from him and flew across the room. eric sighed and made his way to his room. once he had closed the door he pulled up his access to exo-gene. once he was online he typed in his access code to the main computer. once he was inside the mainframe he opened up the security stations. "nova activate an international security jump. all security will now be code red. conferm command." a second later a crisp computerized woman's voice came from his computer. "command confermed." eric smiled to himself and shut down his computer. as the screen died he became aware that he was no longer alone in the room. Fisk black was leaning against the back wall of the room, his cat slitted eyes watching eric.

eric sighed and stood up. "what?" Fisk shrugged and stood straight up. "nothing. I'm just wondering what you are doing up here alone in the dark." eric sighed. "nothing much. just uping the security for the whole exo-gene company." Fisk raised his eyebrow. "what wold you do that for?" eric shrugged. "by now I'm sure you know we had a breakin last night. in the last 24 hours there have been 12 other break-ins. all of them are related to me and my powers." Fisk nodded to himself. "well you cant blame them you are an interesting person." eric stood up and looked at Fisk. "Fisk this is serious. the damage that power could do in the wrong hands would be almost irrepairable. Fisk I need you to keep your ears and eyes open when you get back. I need to know if the military has anything to do with this." Fisk narrowed his eyes and looked at him carefully. "eric... what has happened? what has you so scarred?" eric sighed and his shoulders slumped.

after several minutes of silence eric spoke. "Fisk it's no secret that I've made mistakes with my life. my biggest fear is that the people I care for will find out and they will no longer care for me." Fisk nodded to himself. "I can understand that. eric you have to understand mistakes are a part of our lives. we would not be were we are right now if we did not make mistakes." Fisk moved forward and put his hand on eric's shoulder. "eric I know how you feel right now, but let me tell you this. if anything happens you are welcome to come stay with us. we owe you more then we can ever give. you know if you want you could bring your boyfriend kurt." eric's head snapped up and he caught Fisk grinning. "forgot that we could smell pheromone level. if that is any hint you want him BAD." eric looked away an faint blush covering his face. "I don't want him. I love him."

Fisk smiled and shrugged. "just know this, he is still new to this hole 'gay' thing, you need to give him some time to adjust to it." eric looked away. "I know I'm just scraed that he will change his mind and he wont like me anymore." Fisk sighed and spoke. "when my family first met you, we thought you were the strangest person in the world. if my memory serves me right lucy and I tried to hit you with our car. If I remember right you threw our car into a building." eric shrugged. "well that is what you get for trying to hit me with it. If I remember correctly I sent you a check for the damages." Fisk nodded. "true. my mom nearly had a heart attack when she read the amount the check was made out for." eric shrugged, and smiled. "the point is that we made a mistake. because of that mistake you tried even harder to get us to understand, what you wanted. it was not easy but you did it. and my family could not be happier." eric smiled and nodded. "thanks Fisk I needed to hear that."

eric and fisk made their way back to the party. as eric made his way back to the table he checked his watch. it read 9:00 at night. as eric sat down he caught sight of kurt dancing to the music. smileing to himself he ordered his drink and continued to watch kurt as he danced. if he was truely hanoest with himself he wanted to join kurt, but he knew kurt would not be comfterable being seen danceing with another man. as eric watched kurt lucy leaned closer to fisk, and spoke. "what were you and eric up to?" fisk shrugged. "oh nothing just having a friendly chat between 2 friends. eric was a little freaked out by the news of more break-ins." lucy nodded and turned to eric. she had to laugh when she caught sight of eric watching kurt dancing. smiling to herself she leaned in and whispered into his ear. "he sure looks sexy right now doesn't he?" a split second later eric let out a dream "yeah." a split second later eric whipped around a red blush covering his face.

lucy raised an eyebrow and smiled. eric smiled sheepishly and put his hand behind his head. "what I ment was... a." eric broke off with a slightly sheepish look on his face. lucy grinned and looked at kurt. "well I'll give you one thing eric, you sure as hell can pick the cute ones. so tell me, did you pick him because of his looks, personality, or the fact that you have a slight tail fetish?" eric whipped around and gave lucy a cold glare. "fetish? were did you get that from?" lucy grinned and shrugged. "when you first brought fisk and me to exo-gene you could not stop flirting with fisk you only stopped because you saw him kissing beth." eric shrugged. "as for the fetish I dont know. personaly I like him because like me he knows what it's like to grow up knowing that you were not like the other children."

lucy nodded and leaned back. "well you can pick them well." eric smiled having finaly one an argument with lucy, she usualy beat him. he was about to order another drink when the PDA system sounded. "if all the party goers would make your way to the top of your buildings to see the firworks, and the vocal talents of Eric Tooms." lucy glanced at eric but found that he was gone. lucy rolled her eyes and got up and made her way to the top of the building. as she and them stood on top of the building surrounded by people and wind she could not help but feel a sence of peace. several years ago she was to afraid to come out of the house. now she could walk down the street with no fear. he thoughts were interupted as a massive blue firework blasted open, to signify the start of the show. as the echo died away eric's voice began to emite from every corner of the roof.

(three doors down, not my time. **this is a slightly altered version**)

Looking back at the beginning of this  
And how life was  
Just you and me and love and all of our friends  
Living life like an ocean  
Now the currents slowly pulling me down  
It's getting harder to breath  
It won't be too long and I'll be going under  
Can you save me from death  
because It's not my time,  
I'm not going  
There's a fear in me  
It's not showing  
This could be the end of me  
And everything I know  
Oh, I won't go

I look ahead to all the plans that we made  
And the dreams that we had  
I'm in a world that tries to take them away  
Oh, but I'm taking them back  
All this time I've just been to blind to understand  
What should matter to me  
My friend, this life we live  
Is not what we have, it's what we believe

so It's not my time  
I'm not going  
There's a fear in me  
It's not showing  
This could be the end of me  
And everything I know  
Oh, It's not my time  
I'm not going  
There's a fear in me  
Now I know that  
This could be the end of me  
And everything I know  
Oh, I won't go  
I won't go

It might be more than you believe  
It might be something you can't see

But It's not my time  
I'm not going  
There's a fear in me  
It's not showing  
This could be the end of me  
And everything I know  
It's not my time  
I'm not going  
There's a will in me  
Now it's gonna show  
This could be the end of me  
And everything I know  
I won't go

There might be more than you believe  
There might be more than you can see  
It's not my time  
I'm not going  
There's a fear in me  
It's not showing  
This could be the end of me  
And everything I know  
It's not my time  
I'm not going  
There's a will in me  
Now I know it  
This could be the end of me  
And everything I know  
I won't go

I won't go!  
No I wooooon't gooooo down!

as eric sang the firework burst into existance all around them. as the song ended the rooftop cheered and applauded. as the fireworks began to die down everyone began heading back to their rooms for sleep and packing. kurt slowly made his way back to his shared room and plopped down on his bed. with seconds he was asleep. eric however did not have such an easy time falling asleep. he lay on his bed for what felt like hours just staring up at the ceiling. so much had happened that day that he was not sure of what to do. for one thing he was over joyed with kurt saying 'yes' to them. on the other hand the break-ins were troubling. after what felt like hours eric lept out of bed and left the room. eric sighed as he made his way to the trainning room. it was not uncommon for him to stay awake all night. infact he was uasuasly up for at least several days out of the month. the exo-gene scientists could not explain why he had problems sleeping he just did. as the trainning door opened eric found that he was not the only person having trouble sleeping. fisk black stood in the center of the room. 2 smoking magnums in his hands and dozens of trainning drones covered the floor.

eric raised an eyebrow as he made his way over to fisk. fisk nodded at him silently and the trainning room buzzed to life. a dozens drones flew at them from all directions. fisk made the first move. he dived to the right and yanked back on the triggers. fisk felt the pistols kick back as the rounds flew from the barrels and hit their targets. 3 drones fell from the air and hit the ground. 2 of them burst into flames and the third drone spiraled through the air and crashed into the wall and slid down to the floor. eric grinned to himself as he watched fisk. he barly dodged the blast a drone sent at him. eric leaned to the left and watched as the beam of energy flew passed him and hit the floor behind him. eric rolled his eyes and pointed at the drone, with his finger.

a bolt of energy shot out of his hand and hit the drone. the drone sailled through the air, hit the wall, and exploded into a thousand peices. eric smiled to himself as he felt another drone lock onto his location. as the bolt left the drone's weapon eric lept into the air and brought his leg down on the drone, cleveing it in 2. as eric felt gravity retake him he twisted in mid air, grabbed onto a drones, and pulled down with all his strength. for a second the terrible sound of stressed metal rang through the room. a heart beat later the drone gave an electronic scream and shut off as the power supply was ripped from it's housing. as eric plummeted back down to the floor he absorbed the energy from the power core and grinned. with the new energy in his body he felt like he could do anything.

eric landed on the floor and looked up to find fisk had already torn through half of the drones. eric grinned to himself and sent out a wave of EMP. the remaining drones, began to malfunction. several of them exploded, a few simply fell to the ground and one notalbe one wheeled around and shot the drone next to it. eric looked over and found that fisk was currently sprawled flat on his back panting hard. grinning eric made his way over to fisk and put out his hand. as fisk grabbed his hand a small electrical spark shot between them. in that flash of energy something became clear to him, fisk was not Ok. eric pulled fisk up and then looked at him very closely. fisk took a step backwards and raised and eyebrow. "what?" eric sighed and looked at him. "your sick." fisk looked around and then leaned in closer. "don't tell anyone. they dont need to carry, this burden too."

eric grabbed fisk's arm and dragged him into a preparation room. once inside he did a fast sweep of the room. once he had asured himself that the room was empty he made his way back to fisk. "how long have you known?" fisk looked around tand then leaned in so only eric could hear. "about 6 months now. section 15 made me take a physical befor joining. it was then that they found the shante virus in my cells." eric sighed and looked at the floor. the shante virus was well known to mutants. it caused a persons mutated cells to begin to break down. death usualy followed within 2 years of diognosis. eric looked back up at fisk. "fine I wont tell anyone but you have to. I will not have lucy, or beth trying to kill me because I knew and they did not." fisk nodded and smiled. "thanks eric." eric nodded and looked sharply at him. after several seconds eric and fisk left the room, and made their ways back to their rooms. as eric made his way to his room he stopped in for one last look at the dance floor. as eric looked out over the floor he noticed someone drapped over a chair. slowly he made his way over and found that it was sky. eric sighed and shook his head. as he went to pick up sky a sparkl jumped between them. within that spark eric saw everything sky had done that night. most of i9t was a drunken blur and eric knew sky would not remember any of it. eric sighed and hualled sky up onto his shoulders. after several minutes of carrying him eric dumped sky onto the couch in his room. eric flopped onto his bed and in an instant eric was fast asleep.

the next morning eric rolled out of his bed and hit the floor. a few seconds later eric looked up and moaned. sleeply eric sat up and made his way to the bathroom. after a shower eric stepped out of the bathroom to find sky on the floor, still asleep. eric smiled to himself and put sky back on the couch. grinning to himself eric opened the frig and oulled out a large container of strawberries. after a moment of thought eric opened the door and made his way to the roof. as eric sat down he felt a pulce of energy flash into existance. a second later kurt popped out of thin air behind him. eric chuckled and smiled at kurt. "I see I was not the only one with this idea." kurt sheepishly nodded and moved closer to him. eric smiled to himself and offered kurt a strawberry.

after several moments of silence eric spoke. "kurt, I just want to say... thank you, for giving me a chance." kurt smiled and nodded. "would you like to know why I did it?" eric nodded, and kurt sighed. "all my life I've been alone. no one showed any interest in me even at the instatute, no one seemed intrested in me. I guess I just gave up on finding someone." eric smiled and nodded. "yeah I felt like that for a while, but then... well all that is behind me." eric smiled and felt kurt lean on his side. for a long while they both sat there looking at the sun as it came up. as the sun passed the over the mountains, kurt got an urge. slowly kurt's head turned from the dawn to eric, who was still watching the sun raise. eric had just stretched his back when he felt kurt put his hand on his chin. slowly kurt turned eric's head so they were looking at each other. slowly eric turned from the dawn to kurt. for a long time they just looked at each other.

after what felt like an eternity kurt and eric both moved closer until their lips touched. for a long time they both just sat there kissing in the sun light. finaly they broke apart and both looked at each other. finaly eric broke the silence. "we should head back in we're almost out of strawberries." kurt nodded but did not move. eric smiledna dn moved even closer to kurt. for the next hour neither of them got up or moved. finaly at 11 oclock they got up and made their ways back to their room. as eric entered his room he heard logan, and toad moving around packing. eric grinned to himself and made his way over to sky. carful to put a sheild around him eric smiled and leaned in closer to sky. sky was talking in his sleep. "adam... faster... fuck." eric half smirked and cupped his hands together. "SKY TIME TO WAKE UP!" like he had expected sky tried to punch him. however he did not get the ending he had expected. sky's hand hit eric's sheild with such a force it caused the field to become visable for a moment. a split second later sky's eyes flew open, let out a yell of pain and fell off the couch.

eric watched as sky pulled himself up with the use of the coffee tabele and galered at eric. eric shrugged. "what? last tme you sent me across the room. I'm not getting hit again." sky nodded sarcasticly and sat up. "what happened last night?" eric raised an eyebrow. "that depends do you really want to know?" sky shook his head and then whinced. eric moved closer to him and put his hand of sky's forhead. a moment later he removed his hand and grinned. sky looked up at him and nodded. "thanks for that eric. the hangover is not so bad now." eric nodded and snapped his fingers. once again sky whinced. "as you can see certain sound waves can still trigger your hangover." eric turned to get pack but smirked and turned back. "by the way you dont have to worry about telling adam about your crush. I think what you did last night gave him the message loud and clear."

sky lept to his feet and grabbed onto eric's shoulders. if he had been in his right mind he would have heard the ominous popping of eric's bones cracked. "what happened eric! tell me or so help me!" eric smirked and put his hand on sky's arms. in one swift motion eric pushed sky off him and sent him sailling across the room. "I'm not telling not right now anyways." eric smiled to himself as he heard sky grumble and leave the room. half an hour later everyone was standing out in the parking lot getting ready to leave. spyke looked at his watch and then sighed. "it's only 11:30 I dont want to go back now." eric thought for a moment and then grinned. "well there is a denny's not far from here. we could go if you wanted." everyone nodded and they got into kurt's van. as eric got on his cycle he caught sky, bio and jason leaving. eric got off his bike and made his way over. "hey we're all heading over to denny's you want to come. sky, and bio nodded and jason declinded adam joined eric on his bike and sky flew.

in less then 15 minutes eric, and sky were pulling into the denny's parking lot. as eric, and sky enetered the restraunt they smiled. kurt, sat at the far end holo-watch back in place. next to him sat spyke, logan, scott, and toad. on the other side of the table sat jean, kitty, and storm. eric smiled and they made their way over to join the group. eric, and sky sat down in a booth right behind the group. as they sat down eric grinned. "well I must say from what I glimpsed last nioght you had a fun night sky." by then kurt, spyke, kitty, and toad were leaning over the top of the booth and looking at them. sky sighed and looked at eric. "seriously what did I do last night eric?" eric sighed. "well from what I saw of your memory, you told adam about how you felt but the way you did it left little room for mistake." sky sunk down until his head was touching the table. "what did I do?" eric sighed and looked around. "well last night you proved that being drunk and danceing should not be mixed." sky growned, "did I just sit there and stare at him?" eric shook his head. "from what I saw you walked straight up to adam and told him how you felt... but um." sky looked up. "what?" eric smiled sheepishly. "well you kissed him right then and there on the dance floor, but you did not stop there you kind of,... sort of... copped a feel." the last part eric said with his eyes closed trying not to laugh.

sky let out a grown and sank down so his head was sitting on the table. "god, tell me your joking." eric sighed and shook his head. "nope, I'm afraid not. I saw everything last night when I dragged you to the room." sky let out a low maon and sank if it was possable even lower. "I'm dead, when adam finds me. he'll squash me like a bug." eric looked away and then looked back. "well then you might want to hide right now, cause he's coming in the doorway." sky shot up and then dove under the table. a few seconds later adam walked up to the table, and looked at eric. "hey eric if you don't mind could I speak to sky alone?" eric looked around and shrugged, anything you have to say to him can be said infront of us." adam looked at him for a moment and then shrugged. "fine. sky get out from under the table." a moment later sky shakely came up from under the table. "h...h...hey adam. wha...wh...wha...what are you doing here?" adam raised an eyebrow and put his hand into his jacket. eric felt sky tense but then relax as adam pulled out a peice of paper. "last night you groped me. normaly I would not take to kindly to that but... I really like you, so here." adam set a folded peice of paper down on the table. "bye." with that adam walked out of the restraunt. eric looked to sky and then to the paper. slowly he reached forward and picked up the paper.

slowly eric unfolded the paper and let out a low gasp. "sweet jesus he gave you his number." sky looked at him and pulled the paper from eric's grasp. a second later sky's body seized up as he fainted. eric caught him and laid him down on the bench around the table. once that was done eric looked to the others. "well this will be interesting to watch unfold." by then bio had sat down and spoke. "interesting would not be the word I would have used. maybe funny, hilarious, side splittingly funny but not interesting." eric shrugged. "well if anything this will be good for some laughs. but it is nice to see them at least admitting they like each other." bio nodded and ordered his food. about half an hour later as the food was being brought to them eric's cell phone went off. as second after eric answered it the lites flickered and the TV screen flashed with static. bio looked to eric who shook his head and got up.

**ERIC'S POV**

eric made his way to just inside the bathroom and then locked the door behind him. "how the fuck did you get this number?" **"I asked exo-gene for it. I need to talk to you." **"daniel I dont want to talk to you. I dont care that your my brother. stop calling me. I told you before I dont want to see you. that is not code for call me in 2 months. LEAVE ME ALONE!" **"but eric I need to talk to you. I want to make up for the time we lost." **eric let out a snarl and gripped the ohone so hard it began to crack. "listen to me and listen good. you were the only person I thought could understand me at that time. but when I went to talk to you about me being gay, you slammed the door in my face and said you never wanted to see your gay, mutie brother ever again." there was silence for a moment then, daniels voice came through. **"look eric, I'm sorry for that but I need to talk to you." **eric sighed and crushed the phone. after he threw it in the trash he made his way back to the table and began to eat. he had just finished his eggs when something on the TV caught his attention. "hey everyone shut up." as everyone became quiet the TV became clearer.

"police are unable to say why the car exploded, the only fact they could possitivly determin was that it was murder. the car, a dodge charger original, burst into flames as it made its way down the highway. the owener and corps in the car have been identified as Jason Lovak." by then eric was standing up looking at the screen in horror as the picture changed to the paramedics pulling jason's burnt and chard corps from the twisted wreck of his car. eric glanced at bio who like him was standing up and looking in horror, at the TV. bio sent eric a glance and they both acted at once. eric told the others he could be leaving and then left with bio. eric and bio got onto his bike and gunned the engine. it took eric about 7 minutes to get to the so that by the time they had gotten there the camera crews had moved on. slowly eric and io got off the bike and made their way to the scene. the car had exploded about 50 feet from were it lay now. it had been turned upside down and showed obvious signs of fire, and sound damage. eric looked from the skid marks on the road to the car.

both eric and bio were so wrapped up in the scene that they did not notie the detectives moving towards them until they were right next to them. "excuse me who are you, and what are you doing?" eric looked up and shrugged. "I'm doing the sdame thing you are. trying to figure out what happened, to Jason. as foir who we are my name is eric tooms, I worked closly with jason. this is bio he was jason's lab partner." the detective looked at the police and shrugged them away. "what did you and jason work on?" eric looked up and raised an eyebrow. "jason worked at exo-gene. it's a mutant research company. jason's main job was to monitor mutants with abnormaly high power level. if you want I can get you a list of those names. but you will have to question them on exo-gene property." the detective stiffened and looked around. "why wold that be?" eric looked at him coldly. "exo-gene has very strick policys when it come to talking with cops. they want a lawyer with them at all times. the detective nodded and shrugged. "fine here is my fax number have someone send them over ASAP."

eric tooked the number but did not look up from the scene. he had just spotted something useful. a small metal casing lay just on the other side of the left tire skid mark. the casing was about an inch long but eric could see a small amount of residue on it. carfully pocketing it eric stood up and made his way over to bio. "lets go. I have something for you to sample." bio nodded silently and an hour later they were walking into eric's room. slowly they just made their way to eric's desk and opened up one of the drawers. eric pulled out a flat disk and set it down on the desk. after turning the devise on eric pulled out the metal case and set it above the disk. as he let go of the case a blue light flashed into life from the disk. a second later multiple lasers scanned it and the trace elements around it. a moment later a computerized voice came from the disk. "subject analiziz complete. caseing contained high levels of methane gas, and other highly expandable gasses." eric frowned and looked at bio. "I think I get it now."

closer. eric looked at the caseing and began to pace around the room. "I think this was a accelerant for the bomb. I think this devise leaked methane gass into the car and then a spark or flame was introduced. the gasses would have ignited and expanded in the blink of an eye. that would explain why the windows blew out and the inside of the ar showed masive heat damage." bio stood up and nodded. "that wold make sense, bio has military trainning he would recognise any normal bomb. it would make sense to create a 2 part bomb." eric nodded and sat down on his bed. "I've still got some contacts in shipping for the military. I'll have them trace any shipments of anything that could create methane gas in small doses." bio nodded and made his way to the doors. "I'll tell exo-gene, to be on the watch, for anyone trying to access jason's files, personal or public. eric who dod you think did this?" eric shrugged and stood up. "I dont know bio. but I have an idea as to why they did this. as you know I'm obsesed with a way to stop my powers." bio nodded.

"yeah, you follow the idea that all powers have an opposite power. what does this have to do with jason?" eric dug around in his desk for a moment and then pulled out a palmpilot, and tossed it to bio. "about a week before I came here jason said he may have found a way to completely shut off my powers. a garentied way to stop me." bio looked from the pilot to eric. "are you saying this holds the key to killing you?" eric shrugged. "I dont know about that. he said it could stop me, I dont know if it could kill me." bio raised an eyebrow and spoke. "eric it cant be healthy for you to be this curious about how to beat yourself." eric shrugged and looked out the window. "maybe not but it has to be done." bio rolled his eyes nodded and left.

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A:N)well there is chapter 8 hope you all liked it. send me reviews. by the way as an added bonus, if you an tell me what comic the denny's scene I'll create a character of your design, and put it in my story. you have until chapter 11 to figure it out. email me your vote at . I'll give you a hint it's a web comic.


	9. greece?

_"yeah, you follow the idea that all powers have an opposite power. what does this have to do with jason?" Eric dug around in his desk for a moment and then pulled out a palmpilot, and tossed it to bio. "about a week before I came here jason said he may have found a way to completely shut off my powers. a garentied way to stop me." bio looked from the pilot to Eric. "are you saying this holds the key to killing you?" Eric shrugged. "I dont know about that. he said it could stop me, I dont know if it could kill me." bio raised an eyebrow and spoke. "Eric it cant be healthy for you to be this curious about how to beat yourself." Eric shrugged and looked out the window. "maybe not but it has to be done." bio rolled his eyes nodded and left._

**CHAPTER 9**

it was mid day before the others returned for the mansion. as the others went to their rooms to rest and unpack Kurt made his way for Eric's room. the way Eric had left told him that jason's death had deeply troubled Eric. as Kurt entered the room he found Eric laying down on the bed. slowly he made his way over to the bed and sat down on the end. Eric looked away from the ceiling and smiled at Kurt. "hey." Kurt smiled, back and nnodded. "hey." Eric rolled over to he was laying on his stomach and looking at Kurt. after several minutes Eric spoke. "hey Kurt can I ask you something?" urt nodded and Eric sighed. "if you dont mind me asking what made you say yes?" Kurt smiled. "before you I would have done anything to be noticed. everyone around me was hooking up and having fun but I wasn't. then you came along and for the first time someone was not interested in my form but who I was. that's why I choose to give 'us' a chance." Eric smiled and gave Kurt as fast hug. once Kurt had recovered from the hug he looked over at the desk.

"did you find out anything about jason's death?" Eric looked at Kurt and grimised. "if you dont mind Kurt could we not talk about it. it has me very worried, jason's, assassination and the break-ins. they're conected I just dont know how." Kurt nodded and the 2 fell into silence. after several minutes of silence, Eric got up and went over to his desk. after several moments digging he found what he was looking for. Eric turned back to Kurt and handed hism a necklace. it ws not fance. a single peice of metal about an 1 and a half inches long and an inch wide. a small symbol had been carved into the front. Kurt turned the neckless over in his hands and looked up at Eric. "why are you giving this to me?" Eric smiled. "I would have thought that would be obvious I care about you Kurt. but with my power things can change very fast. it may be a morbid thought but if I should die I would like you to have more then memories of me." Kurt was about to respond when Eric's door opened and spyke stuck his head in. "hey Eric there is a person named, daniel here to see you." as spyke left Kurt felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle. a split second later the light flicker and Eric looked back at Kurt with a fake smile. "hey Kurt I need to talk with daniel. would you mind if I came and got you afterwards?" Kurt shook his head, Eric smiled and left the room.

careful so as not to be seen Kurt followed Eric to the front lobby. Eric took one look at the person sitting in a chair, right then and there he almost lost it. were it not for scott walking by he was sure he would have snapped and vaporized Daniel right then and there. instead he stormed forward grabbed daniel's arm in a crushing grip and dragged him to the library. once inside the library he closed the doors and locked, them. than and only then did he turn to look his brother in the face. when he had last seen his brother daniel had been 7 years old. now he stood tall a 14 year old. he had skinny arms and legs, and jet black hair. his eyes were a deep green and his skin had a dark tan to it, if he had been out in the sun for long hours. were it not for the fact that they were related and hated each other Eric could see himself falling for daniel. Eric shook with rage at the thought. unseen by anyone Kurt 'bamfed' to the top of a bookcase that over looked the library. from there he could see and hear everything.

Eric spoke in voice full of rage and control. 'le...let me get this straight. I told you to leave me alone, you continue to call me. I told you to go away or I'd call the cops you show up at my home so I threw you out. now you come here? I'm forced to ask do you have a death wish cause only someone who wants to die would continue this." daniel opened his moth but Eric put up a hand. "I'm not done, soyou just sit there and shut the fuck up. while I dont like you the only thing keeping you alive right now is that your my brother. so I'm giving you one chance. tell me what your doing here, but you had beter make it good. if I dont like it no one will ever find you." daniel let out a small gulp and then spoke. "look I know I've done wrong by you but I want to make up for it." Eric sighed and looked at the fire, a moment later he looked back. "Not done right by me? that's the understatment of the year. when mom and dad threw me out you were the one person I thought would understand, but no. you slammed the door in my face and told me, you never wanted to see me again."

daniel sighed and looked away. "I'm sorry for what I said and did. I was young and stupid. I would like to get to know you." Eric took a deep breath and looked daniel directly in the eyes. "why this sudden intrest in me? why care now?" daniel sighed and looked away. "Eric I need your help. since you left I've felt strange. resently I found out what that feeling was... I'm a mutant." Eric looked back at him. "why should I care?" daniel looked away and then slumped down in the chair. after a moment he looked up and spoke. "I dont expect you to care Eric. not after what I did but I need to know, what it is you can do." Eric sighed and turned to the fire. "I better question is what cant I do. I absorb energy in any form it takes. why do you need to know?" daniel stood up and in one motion lept into the fire. Eric did not so muc as blink, as the flames caught onto daniel's clothing and began to burn them. as the flames touched daniel's skin they began to dim. the more the flames touched the more they dimmed until until nothing but embers were left. by then Eric had moved towards the fire and was watching with mild intrest.

daniel stepped out of the fire and looked at Eric. the only piece of clothing he still had on were his boxers. Eric raised his eyebrow and tossed daniel his shirt. "you an energy leech. you can absorb the energy but it looks like you cant redirect it. your body just stores it." daniel stepped out of the fire and put on Eric's shirt. "that's why I needed to talk to you." Eric shrugged. daniel stood up and looked at Eric. "do you know anyone who can help me control it?" Eric shrugged. "that depend will you leave me alone?" daniel sighed. "you cant run from me forever Eric. sooner or later you will have to talk to me." Eric shugged. "make it later rather then sooner. the question still stands, will you leave me alone for now?" daniel nodded. "his name is bio he works for exo-gene. he helped me he can help you. now please leave this property." Daniel nodded and left the library. Eric looked from the door to the fire. slowly he turned and snapped his fingers. the fire burst into life again and crackled as Eric left the library. Eric slowly made his way to his room and lay down on his bed. a minute later Kurt came in and joined him. "who was it?" Eric sighed and looked at him. "someone I thought was bad but they turned out to be not so bad."

Kurt smiled and pulled Eric into a small hug. Eric smiled and snapped his fingers and a second later a screen pooped up and tuned into channel 9. for the next few hours, Kurt and Eric just lay on his bed and watched TV. it was dark when they spoke next. Eric rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. "it's 10 at night we should go to bed." Kurt smiled and moved closer to him. "I'm good were right here." Eric looked at Kurt with a raised eyebrow. "you sure I'm your first boyfriend?" lurt nodded and moved even closer. Eric rolled his eyes, got up and made his way over to his dresser. after pulling out his sleeping clothes Eric made his way to the bathroom and got changed. a few minutes later Eric came back out wearing a set of black pants and a white tanktop. Eric smiled at the cite that greeted him. Kurt was laying on his stomach, looking at the bathroom door. off to one side his tail flicked back and forth, in anticipation. Eric sighed and moved to his bed. pulling back the covers Eric grinned as he heard Kurt 'bamf' and then reapear infront of him and under the covers.

Eric got under the covers, and smiled as he felt Kurt move closer. Eric grinned and twisted so he was holding Kurt's arms above his head. Eric grinned as he lay on top of Kurt looking down at him. Eric grinned moved to kiss Kurt. Kurt smirked to himself and 'bamfed' out from under Eric. Eric's smile slipped as he found himself on his stomach with Kurt on his back. Kurt still grinning leaned down to Eric ear and spoke. "woof for me big boy." Eric grinned to himself. so that was Kurt's game. Eric smiled and spoke to Kurt. "I'm not _your _bitch." Eric spun himself around so he was looking at Kurt who still wore that smirk. Eric raised an eyebrow and grabbed onto Kurt's wrists, and pulled Kurt into a hard kiss. Eric was laughing in his head. Eric sent a bolt of energy through Kurt's body sending Kurt into a deep sleep. Eric rolled Kurt off of him and pulled him closer to his chest. Eric smiled to himself and fell fast asleep.

when Eric woke next it was to find Kurt standing next to his bed. "were are you going?" Kurt looked over at him and smiled. "well I need to get back to my bed before an yone checks up on me." Eric smiled and nodded. "Love you, Kurt." Kurt smiled. "love you too Eric." with that Kurt teleported away to his own room. Kurt smiled to himself as he got into his own bed. as he lay there he began to feel cold he missed Eric's warmth. his smile, the way he could read Kurt like a book. about 5 minutes later he heard someone open his door asnd move into his room. a moment later Eric felt someone pulled ack the covers and crawled into bed with him. "Eric what are you doing?" a moment later he felt Eric's arms wrapped around his waist. "don't worry. if anyone comes in all they will see is you. I'm bending the light around me. no one can see me. goodnight." with that Eric fell fast asleep. Kurt felt slightly uneasy about Eric sleeping in his bed, but then he felt it. the warmth creeping up his body settling into his skin. Kurt let out a small shudder. it still amazed him how Eric ould have this effect on him. slowly Kurt drifted off to sleep.

when Kurt woke next it was to find himself nuzzling Eric's neck. the sunlight was filtering through the blinds, and throughing a faint golden glow around the room. the clock on his nightstand read 6:30. slowly Kurt moved away from Eric and stood up. slowly he made his way over to his dresser and began to get changed for school. he was just about, put on his shirt when he heard a grunt coming from his bed. Kurt glanced over and smiled. Eric was up and appeared to have been watching him change. Kurt raised an eyebrow. "what?" Eric shrugged and got off the bed. for a long while he just looked at Kurt but finaly asfter 5 minutes he moved closer to Kurt. "Oh nothing just thinking how you look so much better without your shirt on." Kurt smiled and smacked Eric's hands away. "go get dressed we have school in an hour." Eric shrugged and kissed him before leaving the room. half an hour later Kurt made his way down the stairs to the living room and kitchen. as he placed his backpack by the door he noticed an extra pack.

shrugging to himself Kurt made his way to the kitchen. when he entered he found that toad was joining them. Eric sat next to him pulling what looked like a plate of bacon closer. as Kurt watched Eric looked up and caught his eye. in that breif moment told Kurt all he needed to know. Kurt made his way over to the table and sat down. after breakfast, everyone picked up their backpacks and made their way to the school. as they walked Eric and Kurt lagged to the back of the group. Eric watched the others. toad was getting along fine with the others. it was like he had predicted they just had to get the know him. as they entered the school they all broke off from each other to go to their lockers. shortly after that they made their ways to their classes. a few hours later lunch began and once they had all gotten their food they moved to the shade of a large tree. that's when all the trouble began. they had all just finished eating when the brother hood aproched them. "toad mystique wants us. come on." toad looked from the brother hood to Eric then slowly moved to get up but Eric put his hand on toad's shoulder. "I'll handle this." Eric got up and began to channel energy in the chance of a fight. "tell mystique that toads with us now. if you have a problem with that you can take it up with me."

lance spoke first. "step aside Eric or I'll rock you." Eric smiled and raised an eyebrow. "is your memory really that bad? dont you remember the last time you all tried to fight me? I do, if I recall I kick your ass. lance, shrugged. "a freak acident like you. this time we're ready for you." Eric shrugged. "suit yourself." for a minute nobody moved. it was pietro moved first. using his speed he tried to get behind Eric. Eric whipped around and clotheslined him. still in mid air Eric grabbed pietro's shirt and flung him across the cortyard and into the building. by then students and teachers were looking at Eric with a slight amount of fear. even as he stood there he could hear murrmers of, "is that a mutant?" Eric turned to the other brother hood members. "You want to test me or do you want to leave?" the brother hood looked at each other and then stormed, away. toad sunk back down to the ground trembling from head to foot. "I'm dead when I go home. they'll kill me." Eric shrugged. "they can try but you wont be there." toad looked up at him. "what are you talking about?" Eric shrugged, and pulled out his new phone, and after dialling a number he spoke.

"hey acellerate I've got a job for you." Eric paused for a moment and turned to toad. "hey were do you live?" toad blinked and spoke. "3705 clark street." Eric nodded and spoke back into the phone. "I need you to go to 3705 clark and take everything from the house and take it to the xavier mansion. if anyone asks tell them tolansky moving in. if xavier says no then take the stuff to my house and set it up there. thanks bye." with that he hung up and looked at toad. "well that's that your moved in." he snmiled at the silecnce that responded to him. it was kitty who spoke first. "you have a house here?" Eric shrugged. "actually I have 3." their jaws dropped even more. kitty spoke again. "Eric... if you dont mind us asking... just how rich are you?" Eric smiled. "you'd be surprised how many people ask me that. if I tell you you cant freak out." toad raised an eyebrow. "why would we?" Eric smiled sheepishly. "last year after taxes I made a total of 2.5 billion dollars." spyke who had been taking a drink spluttered and sprayed his drink out onto the lawn.

after much couphing and hacking he spoke. "did you say billion?" Eric nodded and shrugged. "it's not a big deal. so I've got money it doesn't change who I am, or what I stand for." by then Eric had taken in all of the looks he was getting. scott spoke next. "how did you get so much money?" Eric shrugged and sat down. "I've got a few hundred shares in exo-gene and various other mutant related companies." Eric smiled and was about to speak again when the bell rang signaling ther beginning of the second half of classes. as Eric and the others got up he felt a ping of energy signal that acellerate had done what he had asked. for the next few hours Eric had a big smile on his face. as school let out Eric could feel mystique's eyes on the back of his head, but it did nothing to dampen his spirits. as they made their way back to the mansion Eric became aware of a rapidly aproching energy form. Eric grinned, and put his hand on Kurt's shoulder. hold on to your hat acellerate is paying us a visit." Kurt was about to ask what Eric ment when he felt a massive blast of wind, and a man appeared right infront of the group.

"whazz up Eric?" Eric shrugged and smiled. "Oh nothing Acell. how have you been?" Acell shrugged and spoke. "not bad not bad. S.H.I.E.L.D has had me running scout missions, in the east. who better to check up on people then someone who can be faster then the human eye." Eric nodded and smiled. "Acell this is kitty, scott, Jean, spyke, Kurt, and toad. everyone this is acellerate, the living definition of a speed demon." acell smiled and nodded to the group. "as fun as this meeting is, spectrum needs you. says it's a class 17 situation." Eric's eyes widened, at that. "class 17?! why didn't you pull me out of class?!" acell shrugged. "spectrum didn't want to bother you." Eric sighed explosivly and turned to the others. "looks like I wont be walking home with you today." spyke looked at him, but scott spoke. "what's a class 17 situation?" Eric shugged. "I could tell you but I'm late as it is. if you want to know turn on the news when you get home." with that Eric put energy into his legs and sped off with acell. in less then 2 minutes they had traveled to the morge that spectrum worked at. as they entered Eric nodded to ion who sat behind the desk. ion had a goth look going on, complete with black hair, and pale skin. as Eric pushed the 2 swinging doors open he caught sight of the victem. she looked to be about his age maybe a little younger. he also became aware that he was not the only one in the room besides spectrum.

nicky fury sat in a chair pouring over the cae file. when he heard the doors open he looked up and found himself looking at one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'S secret weapons. spectrum looked over from the x-rays he had been looking at and grinned. "well now that your here maybe we can get some work done. Eric this is nick fury you 2 have already met. as for our guest her name is Jacky Blasen." Eric looked at the body on the examination table and noted a dozen or so features. she had red hair with green tips. he skin was slightly paled from lack of sunlight and her arms and legs were slender and long. beyond that he could not see much else due to the sheet around her waist and chest. Eric nodded to her and looked at fury. "why are you here?" fury shrugged. "S.H.I.E.L.D had to exhume the body from the greece authorities and bring her here before she started to decompose." Eric nodded and looked back spectrum. "so what happened that made her so special to be brought here?" spectrum smiled and turned away. "straight to the point I like it. her mutation was the source of attention. remember about a year ago the case with a younr male was found in his school locker room showers, skin missing and burned alive?"

Eric nodded. "yeah about 13 hours after his body was found, he was found to have a mutaion that caused high levels of Calcium and vitamin C to mix forming an acid. why, what does that have to do with this?" specturm handed hima chart with several chemical break downs on it. "she has the same mutation with something extra. unlike the boy she has a thin layer of iron on her skin. it nutrilized the acid she secreeted and saved her life. as for how she died, she was frozen." Eric looked up. "frozen?" spectrum nodded. "from the inside out, like revers microwaves. she was found inside her room, at the research facility on the island of Ios. shortly before she was found several of the local telepaths complained of a spirit around the island. no one can say what the spirit is or were it comes from. all we know is it vanishes in the day and appears at night. for that reason we're sending you, 3 agents, and one other person to greese to investigate this... 'situation'." Eric looked at him and then to fury in slight shock. "your going to what?" "send you to greece, to the situation."

Eric stood there stunded. "you want me to go to greece and figure out what is causing this... this... spirit. Am I right?" fury and spectrum nodded. eic stood up and looked around. "well I guess I had better go pack. by the way you'll have to tell my school that I'll be leaving for a while." fury chuckled. "your the strangest person I've ever met. you have 2 masters degrees from MiT in phsics and a degree in chemical engineering, and yet your still in high school." Eric shrugged and moved to leave the room. "I care about my grades." with that Eric turned and left the room. he was about half way to the front doors when he felt the ground shake. slowly Eric looked up and had to grin. ion was sitting in the middle of the hallway. a thin silver mist was spreading out from his chest, forming a panel that covered the hallway. on the other side of the panel, a dozen or so news reporters and camera men stood pounding in the shield.

ion looked up at Eric's chuckle. "you might want to take another way out. if you dont you might be trampled by the press." Eric nodded and looked back at the crowd around the shield. Eric smiled and turned back around to leave out the back way. he had just pushed open the back doors when a he let out a yelp and lept backwards. another crowd of press were on the other side of the doors. Eric rolled his eyes and began to focus energy into his body. a split second later Eric felt his body go completly numb. a heart beat later he regainned feeling and found himself standing in his room at the mansion. Eric grinned to himself and checked to make sure he had everything he had left with. shortly after that Eric made his way out of his room and down the stairs to the living room. he was just about to go in when he heard the others talking in the next room. "but scott why would they call Eric?" a moment later spyke's voice came through. "dont you memeber? at the party fisk told us Eric is an expert in mutations and mutants. it would make scene that they would call him for this." a moment later scott's voice sounded "yeah maybe but dont you think it's strange. in the 5 months erics been here, Eric has shown that he is very well conected." a moment later kitty spoke. "what do you mean?" scott sighed and spoke. "in the 5 months he has shown that he has dozens of mutants working for him or who owe him favors. not only that but he has shown that he is rich and has dozens of friends in high places. dont you think he could not be what he says he is?"

Eric had had enough. he stepped into the room and cleared his throut. everyone whipped aroun d and looked at him. Eric sighed and spoke. "you know scott it's getting very annoying that you still dont trust me. think about it, if I was sent here to destroy you why haven't I done it already. I have the power to do it. beleive it or not I'm not here to upstage you. I'm here to help people, nothing more or less. if you dont believe me then maybe your not the person I thought you were. now if you dont mind I would like to talk to Kurt later. thank you and goodbye." and with that Eric left the room made his way to his room and locked the door. it really was annoying. he was trying to help people like scott and yet he didn't trust him. Eric sighed and closed his eyes. slowly he felt his powers extend passed his body into the wires and power cables inside the house. he could feel everything. the humm of the power as it moved through the house. the small blips that were electronic meeages in the internet, and cell phones. Eric smiled to himself as he followed the signals until they left the mansion. for the next few hours he ammused himself with the mansion's electrical grid.

it was 9:00 Oclock when he pulled himself from the grid and returned his power to his body. Eric blinked, sat up and looked around. he was no longer alone in his room. Kurt had come in and was reading a book next to him. stealthely Eric glanced at the cover. "hamlet huh. english assignment?" Kurt let out a yelp of surprise jumped into the air. after he came back down he threw the book at Eric and smiled. "yeah mister johnston wants me to read it for his class." Eric nodded and pulled Kurt closer to him. "hey Kurt have you ever been to greece?" Kurt shook his head, and Eric smiled. "how would you like to go?' Kurt looked at him surprised. "why do you ask" Eric shrugged. "exo-gene is sending me to greece to investigate some disturbenses and I was wondering if you would like to come. so want to go?" Kurt stared at him. "Eric what about school?" Eric shrugged. "trust me on this exo-gene will probably put a multiple in your place. not even scott will be able to tell it's not you." Kurt looked away. "what about xavier?" Eric shrugged. "oh we'll have to tell him but I know he'll be fine with it." Kurt smiled and moved closer. "and exo-gene is the only reason?" Eric shrugged. "well that... and I'd love to be have you all to my self for the next 3 weeks."

Kurt smiled and was about to kiss Eric when someone knocked at Eric's door. Eric smiled and moved off the bed so no one would suspect anything. slowly he made his way over to the door and opened it, to find bio on the other side. **(these chemicals do not exist that I know of.) **"amonium-dinitrate and thermit-carbonate." Eric blinked. "huh?" bio sighed and moved into the room. "those 2 chemicals were inside the metal casing and the 2 chemicals reacting with each other is what produced the methane gass that helped to kill jason." Eric nodded and looked at the casing on his desk. "so we know the 'what', the 'how', the 'when' and possably the 'why. now all we need to know is the 'who'." bio nodded and smiled. "I figured you could have some of you contacts trace all shipments of the stuff in the last 3 years. it's abnormaly rare, so it shold not be to hard to trace." Eric nodded and sent out the pulce to his computer. a second later he felt it turn on and pull up his contact lists. a second later his computer had pulled up all the contacts that could help. Eric smiled as the computer sent out emails to all of them asking for shipments of the 2 chemicals.

Eric turned back to bio and grinned. "I should have the shipping records within the next 2 hours. when I get them I'll send them to you, Ok?" bio smiled, nodded, and left. Eric looked back at Kurt who was watching him and smiling. Eric smiled and made sure the door was closed. slowly he moved back to the bed and lay down. grinning Eric pulled hamlet closer to him and began to read it. a moment later he felt Kurt move to his side and read with him. for a long time they both lay there reading hamlet and enjoying each others company. it was nearly 11 when they finished the play and Eric handed it back to Kurt. "well now your caught up on your work. we should go to bed.' Kurt nodded, set the book down on Eric's desk and returned to his bed. Eric rolled his eyes and got changed. shortly after that Eric and Kurt found themselves in the same bed asleep.

the next day Kurt woke first. for a long while he just lay there loving the feeling of Eric holding him. rythmicly Eric would breath on his neck and it would send a shudder down his spine. he loved it all. the feeling of being loved. slolwy Kurt moved away from Eric and sat on the edge of the bed. he had a mayjor delema. on one hand he needed to get back to his own room to get ready for school. on the other hand he wanted to stay with Eric. finaly after much thinking he chose to go to his room. he had just closed the door behind him he he relized he was not alone in the hallway. kitty had just finished getting ready in the bathroom. she was about to leave the bathroom when she heard someone open the door to Eric's room. slowly she peaked out from the door frame and saw Kurt closing the door to Eric's room. his pants were wrinkled, his hair was a mess, and he had no shirt on. it looked like he had spent the night in Eric's room. after he closed the door he leaned against it for a moment and kitty noticed he had a deep red blush covering his face. then slowly Kurt moved to his room and went inside.

as Kurt closed his door he could not help but smile. he loved it, and he loved Eric with all his heart. still smiling he made his way to his dresser and began to get dressed. as Kurt finished putting on his shirt he felt a surge of happiness, burst through him. Kurt grabbed his bag and teleported down to the living room. he smiled to rouge, and Jean as they walked passed him and pulled kitty into a crushing hug. once he let go of her he teleported into the dinning room and fixed himself a plate of food. as he fixed himself some food he began to think. he was happy with Eric for that he was sure. infact he was happier then he had been in a long time, but one question still lurked in his head. what had made Eric fall for him? he knew what Eric kept telling him was the truth but he felt like there was something more to it then that. Kurt had just sat down when Eric entered with a large grin on his face. Kurt chuckled as he watched Eric heap food onto his plate and sit down. Kurt was about to eat when he noticed that Eric had not sat down yet.

Kurt looked up and smiled. Eric was looking at him with a slightly glazed look on his face. it was only then that Kurt relized something. they were the only ones in the room at the time. Eric still smiling made his way closer to Kurt and smiled even wider. Kurt felt a warm shudder roll down his spine as he felt Eric gently grab his tail. Kurt let out a small moan as Eric gently massaged it. running his fingers over the strong muscles in the tail. Kurt was about to kiss Eric when Eric let his tail go and moved back to his seat and sat down. a moment later the door opened and spyke, scott, and logan walked in, and began to get their food. Kurt caught Eric's smirk out of the corner of his eye. half an hour later everyone had their packs and began to make their way to school. they had just turned into a short cut that lead through an ally when the trouble started. 4 thgs moved infront of them and 6 moved in back. "awww what have we here? kiddies on their way to school?" the other laughed and Eric narrowed his eyes. "I'll give you one chance walk away." the leader laughed even harder. "_you _giving me orders?" Eric nodded. one of the other thugs grabbed Eric. "hey boss he's from that xavier school. he must be a freak like the rest of them. if we cut him do you think he'll bleed yellow?" Eric chuckled. "yellow blood? you want bio for that. the only thing you'll get if you cut me is the shit kicked out of you. one last chance take the offer before it expires."

the leader stepped forward. "no." Eric smirked. "then I will have to force you." Eric blurred forward and slammed his closed fist into the thug's chest. the man flew backwards and hit the wall behind him. as another thug tried to get behind Eric he lept into the air spun around landed and kick to the side of the man's face and sent him to join his friend. "tell me. still confident you can take me." the thugs looked at Eric and then to their 2 friends who were now slumped against the wall. a second later they turned and ran. Eric sighed and pulled out his cell phone. "I need medical transportaion for 2 men in the ally on the corner of martian street, and chestnut avenue. get here as soon as you can. thanks bye." as Eric hung he he looked at the others. "come on. if we dont hurry we'll be late." with that he continued walking. a moment later Kurt joined him and they all continued their way to school.

**JEAN'S POV**

english, she hated it so much. Jean gray was currently sitting in miss chornus's class room trying to give a crap about how a sentence had 1 subject and a predicate. Jean sighed and stopped writing in her notebook. Why did any of it matter? why did each sentence have to begin with a capital letter? why did you have to start a new line for diologe? _'when will this old bag of bones shut up?!' _Jean sat straight upright. she had not thought that and yet even as she sat there terror raising inside of her she could begin to hear the other kid's thoughts. by then the teacher had stopped talking and was looking at her with concern. "Jean? do you need to leave?" Jean nodded and left the room. as fast as she could she made her way to the girl's bathroom and leaned against the cool tiles, on the wall trying to clear her mind. the voices were beginning to fade away but every now and then one would get through. she had been about to leave when 2 very strong minds began to break through her mental shield. the 2 minds were very close infact judging from how powerfull they were they were coming from the next room. then things began to fall apart.

Jean felt he mind leave her body and move into the next room. through them wall and into the boy's bathroom. Jean's spirit slowly moved on its own to the source of the thoughts. 2 boys, one had the other pinned against the wall, and were franticaly kissing each other. Jean's mind seem to stop right infront of them, watching, waiting. a moment later the 2 boys broke apart to catch their breaths and only then did she relize who she was looking at, Eric and Kurt. kurt let out a low moan as eric kissed his neck and shoulders. kurt took a deep breath wich was good because a moment later eric almost tackled his lips. there was a huge flash of light and Jean found herself back in her body. shakely Jean stood up and made her way over to the mirror. after checking her reflection she looked down at the sink. it's not possable what she had seen could not be actually happening. jeann shook her head trying to rid it of the image of eric and kurt makeing out. after several minutes the bell rang and Jean made her way to the lunch room. she had just passed the boy's bathroom when she heard it. it was so quiet that she could hardly hear it but shge did. a series of low moans coming from the other side of the door.

**NORMAL POV**

eric and kurt had just finished getting their food when eric got a call on his phone. shortly after he answered he smiled and hung up. "that was exo-gene they have our covers ready they would like to meet us after school." kurt looked at him. "our covers?" eric nodded. "yeah, you know. the people who will be replacing us while we're in greece." kurt nodded and smiled. "when do we meet them?" Eric smiled and shrugged. "they want to see us after school lets out." kurt smiled and they made their way to the others with their lunch. as they sat down eric noted that jean and kitty oth avoided his gaze. eric shrugged and sat down next to kurt. as they ate eric noticed that kitty, and jean would still not look at him or kurt. eric made a mental note to ask about it later but for now continued to smile and joke with the others. as the bell rang they got up and made to go back into the school. kurt was about to enter when he felt eric grab him about the waist and give him a fast hug. kurt smiled to himself as he and eric made their way to their next class, gym. eric grinned to himself as he felt kurt's eyes on his back as he changed.

through out the class he could feel kurt watching him. as he through the courses he could not help but smile. it felt wonderful to have a boyfriend again. everyday felt special, full of purpose, and happiness. **(god that sounded cliche')** shortly after warm ups the gym teacher told them that they would be playing dodge ball. as eric and kurt lined up they grinned at each other. the teacher blew the histle and the game began. an hour and a half later the class filed into the locker room, and began to change for their next classes. as kurt changed he could not help but look at the others in the room. most of them were about average build. then kurt's eyes found eric. he was very easy to spot. his back was covered in scars but you could still see that he was very well built. kurt flet a shiver run up his spine and went back to getting dressed. as everyone left the locker room, kurt siled and moved closer to eric so that they could walk to their next class together.

the bell signaling the end of school had just rung when eric got a call on his cell phone. spyke, and toad who were outside with him cold tell something was wrong. eric stayed silent for about 2 minutes and then final spoke. "I'll be there is a minute." with no explaination he rasn to his bike, staerted it and sped out of the parking lot. eric blasted through the trafic, onto the main road and began to weeve in and out of trafic to increase his time. 2 minutes after he had gotten onto the road eric launched himself off a parked ramp truck and into the air. 15 seconds later eric landed with a 'whump' and sped off to the warehouse right infront of him. as he neared the warehouse he could hear the sounds of gunfire from within. eric shot a bolt of lightning at the wall and burst through it. he took the entire scene in at once. there were half a dozen men in the room. all of them had fullautomatic weapons, and about half of them were already pointed at him.

eric blurred into motion. he lept off his bike and threw himself at the nearest man. a simple twist if his neck and them man crumpled to the ground dead. even as the man fell her grabbed his weapon and spun to face the rest of the room. eric felt the bullets from the other guns impact on his skin but did not feel anything else. his absorbtion field was taking the kenetic energy from them and letting the bullets fall to the ground harmlessly. eric grinned and hurld his gun at the nearest man. the gun hit the man in the side, and the metal shaddered. in a blurr eric was on the man, 2 punches to the stomach took the man out of the equation. eric lept into the air and sent out a dozen electrical pulces into the room. the remaining men began to shake and convulse as their nerve systems were shut down. the men crumpled to the ground and did not move. eric calmly made his way deeper into the warehourse occationaly fighting men he found. he had just made it to the main loading dock when more gunfire erupted around him. from one side of the room, 6 men with guns were shooting at him, on the other side of the wall fisk black shot back woith to semi-automatic pistols.

eric grimaced as he flet more bullets hit his field. eric ducked and weeved through the fire until he found himself with his back against a crate nxt to fisk. "you always did take me to the best places." fisk growled flipped him the finger and returned fire. eric rolled his eye and placed his hands against a nearby crate and pushed. the crate flew through the air and burst into splinters against the far wall taking with it about 3 men. eric grinned as he picked up an empty bottle and charged it with energy. hurling the bottle over his shoulder he counted to 3. a wave of heat hit him and fisk a second later. a moment later the gunfire died to nothing , fisk and he looked out from behind the crate. the far wall was blackened from the explotion the charged bottle had caused. eric and fisk both moved from the crate to the another crate. fisk ripped the top of the crate off and began to dig around inside. eric stood with his back to fisk his eyes constintly looking for more men. a moment later eric heard fisk pocket something and begin to leave. sa few moments later eric and fisk shot away from the warehouse and to the mansion. a few minutes later they were walking through the hallways to eric's room. as they walked passed several room, he heard gasps, and calls for help. once inside his room, eric set fisk down on his bed and dug around in his desk.

a moment later eric stood up and turned back to fisk with a small bag in hand. is eyes as he noted that several other people had entered his room and were watching him. eric opened his bag and pulled out what looked like a normal glow stick. eric cracked the stick and then poured it's contense over any wounds fisk had. the chemicals began to fiz and bubble as they reacted with the blood inside the wounds. slowly the wounds began to close as the cells began to grow faster. a moment later eric pulled out a shot and injected fisk with its contense. fisk whinced as the nano-bots inside the shot flowed into his blood and began to break apart any bullets in his body. once that was done eric out his gadgets back and then turned to fisk. "I think you have some explaining to do fisk. first you call me and tell me you need help. then once I get there I find armed men, and a masive fire fight. explain."

fisk dug into his pocket, pulled out a small bag of white poweder, and tossed it to eric who caught it with a slightly stunned look on his face. a moment later eric spoke through clenched teeth. "you mean to tell me that you risked your life for a crack bust?! A FUCKiN CRACK BUST! ARE YOU iNSANE?! you know what, you dont have to worry about those men. I'll kill you myself!" eric began to move closer to fisk. fisk rolled his eyes. "it's not crack it's kick." eric stopped and raised an eyebrow. "kick? is that even possible?" fisk shrugged. "this is not just any old kick. this version very pure. about 10X stronger then normal. use this once and Your hooked, use it again and you died." eric nodded and looked around the room. spyke spoke next. "what is kick?" eric sighed. "it's a illegal drug. in humans it has not effect but in mutants it amplifies their powers, beyond what they should be. like all drugs however it's addictive, and use it to much it **will** kill you. exo-gene has a section specificaly for tracking and shutting down kick operations. it seems that they'll be busy for the next few days cleaning up the warehouse." eric turned back to fisk. "well I'm not going to kill you, but I'm very upset. you knew there was the very realy possability of a fight but you did'nt call back up, or tell anyone where you were going or what you were doing. andwhen things did go bad you called me, and didn't even tell me waht was going on. had I known what was happening I would have sent in the police and exo-gene."

fisk sighed and looked at the floor. "alright I should have done things differently, but I still think I did the right things by being stealthy." eri rolled his eyes and sighed. "fisk, sometimes you need more then just stealth. sometimes you need help. as it is your gonna be here for the next few hours while the nano-bots do their job, wich will take about 5 hours, so get comfy." fisk sighed and stretched out over eric's bed. eric rolled his eyes and put the bag back in his dresser. a moment later his phone rang. after a short conversation during witch everyone but kurt lets eric smiled. "hey kurt want to meet our doubles?" kurt nodded and eric grinned. "great let's get going." with that they left the room, and soon after found themselves flying down the street on eric's bike. half an hour later eric and kurt pulled into a small dinner parking lot about a mile or two from the mansion. eric smiled and hopped off his bike closely followed by kurt. "where are they?" eric shrugged. "well traffic was not as bad as I thought it would be so their probably not here yet. you want something to eat?" kurt shook his and eric shrugged. about 5 minutes later kurt's ears became aware of a noice. it was a loud droning sound. a sound that reminded him of a car engine. a moment later a jet black orginal Ford GTO pulled into the lot. eric shook his head and grinned. "kurt I'd like you to meet, mike, and savana our replacments."

no sooner had eric said this then 2 people stepped out of the car. on the left was a younger boy who looked to be about 14 or 16 years old. he had long black hair, dark green eyes, and his frame was long and skinny. on the right side a adult woman. she had white hair, with blue eyes, and a slightly tough arua about her. eric smiled and shook hands with both of them. "great to you see you again." savana nodded and looked at him. "your heart stopped glowing great. now I dont have to worry about that." eric chuckled and turned to kurt. "the wise on here will be taking me on, and mike with be taking you on." kurt tuerned to mike who looked at him with an expert gaze. after several moments he spoke. "hair wont be a problem, tail shouldn't be to hard either, all in all I think I can pull it off." eric smiled and nodded. "kurt raised an eyebrow. "how old are you?" mike shrugged "13." kurt's mouth fell open. "shouldn't you be in school?" once again mike shrugged. "exo-gene has a school program for those of us who are on constant missions." savana looked at eric. "I assume that we'll be going full diversion?" eric nodded. "yeah, logan's got a great sence of smell so you'll be using scent modifiers to smell like us. not only that but you'll have to use neural inhibitors to keep xavier out of your heads." savana, and mike nodded and moved closer to the dinner. "mind if we get something to eat?" eric shook his head and moved back to his bike with kurt. kurt looked at the GTO.

"nice car." eric grinned and chuckled. "savana, and mike are very into street racing. most of the time if you need to find them you have to find out were the races are being held. mike, and savana are muscle car raceing experts. they love muscle cars, they own about 50 of them. from chargers, to that GTO you just saw." kurt raised an eyebrow. "they race on the street?" eric shrugged and started the engine. "kurt most street racing mutants, are speed freaks. mike, and savana drive with the crew called dragon crest racers. they hold races every now and then. the next time they have one I'll take you." kurt smiled and wrapped his arms around eric back. eric gunned the engine and sped off into the street, dodging between cars and cutting through traffic. a few minutes later they pulled into the mansion garage. eric got off the bike and grinned to kurt. kurt raised an eyebrow. "how would you know about the races?" eric shrugged. "I've driven in a few bike races. but lets not talk about that right now." kurt smiled and nodded. a few minutes later eric walked into his room and sat down, at his desk. kurt had gone off to his own room to finish up his homework. eric grinned and looked out the window at the night sky. it was about 11 at night and if he was honest he was tired. slowly eric got up from his chair and made his way over to his bed. without even bothering to get dressed he flopped down onto the bed and fell asleep.

the next few days were fairly normal. nothing ut of the ordinary happened. every now and then he would catch a sight of savana, and mike following them around watching them. on frieday on their way back from school eric leaned closer to kurt. "we leave in about half an hour. are you ready?" kurt nodded. "great. let's slip away." kurt nodded, and sank back into the shadows of an alley. as they did so they heard savana and mike assume their forms and take their places. eric grinned as he and kurt hurridly made their way to the air port, and moved out onto the tarmack. "exo-gene is taking us as far as the main land after that we're taking a boat to island. we'll be staying at a resort that the facility uses." eric got off his bike and made his way to the plane waiting for them. a few minutes later the plane took off and ericand kurt got to see who they would be working with for the first time. sky, sat in one of the chairs at the bar, next to him adam. on eric's left sat feline, and at the far end of the cabin sat fisk. as they sat down fisk moved closer to them. "so... how did you tell them that your going to greece?" eric shrugged. "we didn't I got savana and mike to cover for us." fisk grinned and the plane rumbled as it made it's way to greece.

they had just reached 30,000 feet when sky got up from his seat and moved closer to eric, and fisk. as he sat down eric smirked. "sooooooo... sky. you and adam together now?" sky nodded with a slightly dreamy smile on his face. eric raised an eyebrow and looked to fisk. "huh, well I must adimt fisk your the only one missing out on the fun. sure your not gay?" fisk rolled his eyes and shook his head. "no, I like girls and I plan to saty that way." eric grinned and pulled kurt closer to him. "fine... ut you dont know what your missing." fisk shrugged and shook his head. "whatever. you are talking to the wrong man." eric shrugged, and looked from sky, to adam, and then smiled. "well sky I'm happy to hear that you and adam are together now. I just have one bit of advise to you, don't rush things. take things nice and slow." sky nodded and went back over to adam. kurt looked over at eric. "how long is this flight?" eric sighed. "I think it's 13 hours long. I hope you like movies." kurt's jaw dropped. "13 hours?! as in 780 minutes?" eric grinned and nodded. "sucks don't it.? I'm actualy a little surprised last time something like this happened they rented the concord and we were in greece in less then 5 hours. I guess budget cuts are in effect." kurt rolled his eyes and made himself more comfterable. sky looked at eric. "unfortunatly we'll have company on the boat exo-gene is pulled a stunt and they allowed Mat from the today show to travel with us to the island. they also would like an interview with you. so you might want to get ready." eric sighed and closed his eyes. for the next 13 hours they talked, watched movies, and played chess.

when they landed it was about 6 in the morning. for the next few hours, they shopped for a few changes of cloths. after that they hopped, into a cab and after several minutes they stepped out onto the docks, a few minutes later they alkl stood on the deck of the Martha Anne. as the boat pulled away from the dock eric leaned closer to kurt's ear. "you should get some rest. I'll wake you before we arive." kurt kissed eric on the cheek and made his way to his and eric's bedroom. as eric wtached kurt walk away he became very aware of everyone looking at him. eric raised an eyebrow and moved to the front of the boat. as he sat down he pulled his laptop out of his bag and logged, on to the internet. sshortly after that he accessed the mansions wireless and pulled up a screen to his room. as he had suspected savana and mike were sprawled across his bed. eric grinned and cleared his throut. savana and mike jumped slightly and looked at the screen. "hey eirc how was the flight?" eric shrugged and smiled. "not bad, kind of long but other then that it was fine. how are things with you and our cover?" savana shrugged. Honestly I was expecting better. I dont think they even know we're not the real eric and kurt. I'll check in with you every now and then Ok?' eric nodded and pulled out of the system. with that he shut down his laptop and made his way to his room only to find kurt fast asleep on the bed.

eric grinned and moved so he was next to kurt. a few hours later fisk came in and woke them both up saying that they were about an hour from the island and they should start to get up. eric moaned and sat up on the bed. had he not riden on boats before he probably would be thrwing up right about now. as it was kurt looked like he was about ready to hurl. eric chuckled and patted kurt's shoulder. "don't worry it's almost over." kurt groaned and sat up. "I hate boats." eric chuckled and handed him a bottle of antisea-sickness pills. "here take 2 of these they should help. I've got to go up deck but I'll see you in a little while." with that eric left the room and made his way to the deck. he had just breathed in a breth of fresh air before someone behind him called his name. eric turned and hand to sigh again. "the today show crew was walking towards him infront was mat. for half an hour he answered questions and talked. it was noon when the island finaly came into view. a few nminutes later kurt joined him and they watched the island come closer and closer. above them sky flouted in the air following the boat as it moved closer and closer to the island. within 15 minutes the boat pulled into the dock and everyone got off.

as they walked down the dock eric grinned and moved closer to kurt. "welcome to greece. hope you like it." as they neared the end of the dock they found 3 jeeps waiting for them. eric grinned and loaded everyone's bags into the front jeep. as he and kurt got into the front jeep kurt could not help but look around them. next to them the beach stretched for miles around the island. on their other side green trees blanketed the landscape. off in the distance he could see a patch of earth had been cleared and built upon. eric grinned as he watched kurt looking around. a moment later dirt spun out from under the tires as he drove the jeep through the forest and passed rivers, and lush trees. a few minutes later the group pulled into the resort. as eric hopped out of the jeep, he caught sight of kurt. he had on a slightly stunned look on his face, as he looked around him. as eric pulled the bags from the jeep someone spoke from the front steps. "well eric tooms, how are things?" eric looked up and smiled. "vallerie. how are those old bones feeling?" kurt turned to the front doors and saw vallerie for the first time.

a middle aged woman in front of him. her skin had a light tan to it but it looked like she was older in years. from the look of her she looked to be about mid 50s, early 60s. she had long flowing silver hair and a rather all knowing look on her face. as she came closer to them she threw out her arms and pulled eric into a huge hug. a moment later she pulled away and put her hands up to her mouth. "stop growing. your making me feel so old." eric chuckled. "vallerie I hate to tell you but you are old. sorry I didn't make it to you last birthday. waht are you 2,000?" vallerie playfully punched eric's shoulder. "I'm 1,990 and you know it." this was to much for kurt, who's mouth had fallen open. eric chuckled at kurt's reaction. "Kurt Wagner, meet Vallerie Furkin. vallerie is the oldest person on the planet, due to her imortality." kurt raised an eyebrow. "your imortal?" vallerie nodded. "yeah. hard to beleive huh. truth is I've lived on this island for the last 500 years." kurt's eyebrows went even further into his hair. eric chuckled and pulled kurt up the stairs and into the hotel. the front room was lavishly built. white walls rose 15 feet above their heads. of to their right a fountain shot water 5 feet into the air and let it fall back down into a beutiful bowl about 20 feet wide, and 5 feet deep. on their left a stunning grand firepit sat in the center of the floor. clustered around the firepit were half a dozen chairs and tables. infront of the the front desk spanned the entire back wall. marble counters sparkled in the light and sent off dozens of shimmering rainbows.

eric smiled at kurt's reaction and continued on his way to the front desk. after checking in eric kurt and the others made their way to the 4th floor and into their rooms. as eric shut the door behind him he could feel how stunned kurt was of their room. the main room consisted of a huge king bed, and 2 small nightstands. of the one side a massive 56" TV hung from the wall. the walls themseves were a pale blue that reminded kurt of the morning sky. of the side of the room was a doorway that led to the bathroom. on the other side of the room a sliding glass door led to the balcony that over looked the ocean and gave them a very impressive view of the island. kurt who had moved out to the balcony and was looking out over the mountain. when he had moved to the mansion he had thought he would never find a place more stunning and beutiful, but he had been proven wrong. "what world was I living in?" from behind him he flet a pair of strong arms wrap around his waist and tail. "you were living in the world you loved. I'm just showing you another world that exists." kurt let out a low moan as he felt eric begin to nuzzle his neck. eric grinned and this and began to kiss up kurt's neck.

they did not know for how long they stayed like that. the sun had gone down when they finaly moved away from each other. it was almost midnight when they both made their way down to the hotel restraunt. after a dinner of wine, fish, crab, and various other local foods, they found themselves sitting around the firepit with fisk, adam, and sky. sky had just tossed a log onto the flames when adam spoke. "so guys, anyone have any thoughts about our investigation?" eric sighed and sat up from were he had been laying on the floor infront of the fire. "honestly adam, I think we could have a real problem on our hands. on our way here I looked over the reports. to me it seems like no one had access to the facility that was not supposed to. personaly I think we should check out anyone who has a grudge on exo-gene. other then that I think we should look into who on this island has any power related to ice or freezing things." sky nodded and fisk, just tossed another log onto the flames, watching them flare up and began to eat the wood. eric raised an eyebrow and spoke. "fisk you've been very quiet. what's on your mind?" fisk shrugged. "I'm just a little worried. from what we know this happened inside a completly secure facility. from every report, no one noticed that she had died. if that could happen in an exo-gene facility we could be dealling with a very powerful mutant."

eric nodded and looked deep into the fire. "I know what you mean fisk. but for now let's just enjoy being in greece. god knows, exo-gene will probably never send us on another pre-paid trip again." a round of laughter met this comment. eric grinned and pulled kurt closer to him. for the next few hours they chatted lightly over the fire. fianly at 3 in the morning they all went to bed. as kurt stood looking out over the island his head continued to spin. it seemed hard to believe that just half a day ago he had been at bayview. now he has halfway around the world and in what looked like a paradice. eric behind him he heard eric chuckle. "dont worry about it. I felt the same way when they sent me here for the first time." kurt felt himself being lifted off the ground and a moment later dropped onto the bed. a moment later he flet the bed sag slightly as eric lay down next to him. kurt smiled and rolled over so he was pinning eric to the bed. eric let out a small chcukle and tried to roll them over. for the next few minutes, they continued to wrestle around for control. finaly after several minutes eric stopped struggling and grinned up and kurt. "ever think about going for the wrestling team.?" kurt shook his head and laid his head on eric's chest. a few minutes later they were both fast asleep.

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A:N) well folks there is chapter 9. I hope you all liked it. unfortunatly school will be starting again soon so I wont be able to update nearly as fast, or as often. see you next chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

_Eric nodded and looked deep into the fire. "I know what you mean Fisk. But for now let's just enjoy being in Greece. God knows, exo-gene will probably never send us on another pre-paid trip again." a round of laughter met this comment. Eric grinned and pulled Kurt closer to him. For the next few hours they chatted lightly over the fire. Finally at 3 in the morning they all went to bed. As Kurt stood looking out over the island his head continued to spin. It seemed hard to believe that just half a day ago he had been at bayview. Now he has halfway around the world and in what looked like a paradise. Eric behind him he heard Eric chuckle. "Don't worry about it. I felt the same way when they sent me here for the first time." Kurt felt himself being lifted off the ground and a moment later dropped onto the bed. A moment later he felt the bed sag slightly as Eric lay down next to him. Kurt smiled and rolled over so he was pinning Eric to the bed. Eric let out a small chuckle and tried to roll them over. for the next few minutes, they continued to wrestle around for control. finaly after several minutes Eric stopped struggling and grinned up and. "ever think about going for the wrestling team.?" Kurt shook his head and laid his head on Eric's chest. a few minutes later they were both fast asleep._

**CHAPTER 10**

**THE NEXT MORNING AT THE MANSION**

sleeply kitty entered the dinning room to find everyone but Eric, and Kurt, sitting and waiting. as she sat down Xavier spoke. "tyhank you all for coming so early. I have some disturbing feelings about Kurt and Eric. last night whenh they came home logan, and I felt several differences in them. before I could skim Eric's thoughts but now they are completly blocked. Nightcrawler's thoughts had always been, semi-shielded, most likely due to his form, and metal isolation for many years but now like Eric's mind I cannot even sence his presence any more. not only that but logan has informed me that their scent is no longer the smae." logan nodded and spoke. "Their original smell is there but I can smell something else. it's like there is a scent under a scent. I cant explain it." "we can." everyone whipped around to find Eric, and Kurt leanning against the back walls of the room listening to the meeting. Eric grinned and moved forward. "your friends Eric, and Kurt have not been in the states, since about 6 last night." logan stepped forward and popped his claws. "were are they?" Eric shrugged and cracked his neck. a moment later his skin began to crawle like a dozen bugs were under it. a moment later a middle aged woman stood there. "name is savana, and this is my little brother mike. Exo-gene hired us to cover for Eric and Kurt while they went on a mission."

Xavier moved forward. "why would exo-gene send Nightcrawler on a mission?" mike chuckled. "they didn't send Nightcrawler on the mission they sent Eric. he chose Kurt to acompany him, on the job." Scott raised an eyebrow. "why would Eric do that?" savana let out a high piched laugh. "are you really that stupid?! do you not see what has formed between Kurt, and Eric?!" a blank look from everyone met this statment. savana shook her head and sighed. "My god even you telepaths cant feel it? what are all of you stupid or something?" mike put a hand on savana's shoulder. "easy savana Eric won't like it if you tell them Eric big secret." Xavier riased an eyebrow but it was Scott who spoke first. "what's this secret everyone is talking about. everyone from exo-gene knows, but no one will tells us. well I'm getting sick of it. TELL US WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" mike raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "you trying to scare me Scott. well let me tell you something, I don't scare easily. one of the many tricks I've learned over the-." mike broke off and looked at Xavier. Xavier had his eyes closed and was obviously trying to read his mind. mike chuckled, and jerked his head to the left. Xavier was lifted out of his chair and pushed against the wall where he hung suspended about 3 feet off the ground. "Bit of advise for you Xavier, keep out of my mind. if you try that with any other exo-gene mutant they will most likely kill you." Xavier couphed and slowly sunk down to the floor. "why are you all so obsessed with keeping telepaths out of your heads?" mike shrugged.

"most of us have led very crappy lives. I myself was thrown out of my home when I first manifested. if it wern't for Eric finding me I would probably be dead in the streets. like Eric not many of us trust telepaths for one reason. the mind is the last place humans have not gotten their hands on. we want to keep it that way." with that mike turned and moved as though to leave the room but an optic blast from Scott stopped him. Scott was standing up and had his hand on his visor. "Your not going anywere until you tell us Eric's secret. he lives with us we have the right to know." savana slowly moved closer to Scott and slapped him. "right?! right?! you have no fuckin right! just cause he lives with you does not mean you have the right! Eric has been talking about all of you since he got here. infact exo-gene has long been interest in all of you. they wanted to add you all to their security teams. do you know what Eric told them? he said that only Kurt, and storm were good enough to be on the security force. he was very impressed with storm's controll over her powers. that is not something to sniff at. if Eric is impressed it's a big deal. as for Kurt, he said that he had never met another mutant who had as much compassion for what they do." savan took a ragged breath and the plowed on.

"just cause you have power does not mean your the best. if that were ture Eric would be head of the exo-gene securtiy team. as it is exo-gene is trying to get Eric far away from here." Xavier who had by now gotten back into his chair chose that moment to speak. "why is exo-gene trying to get Eric away?" mike sighed and spoke from his position on the ceiling. "exo-gene has always kept a close eye on Eric's power levels. mostly for hs own safety. since he has come here a 3 energy drain has been recorded. it only started when he came here. this drain is due to a feeling of sadness. emotion play a huge part in Eric's energy outputs. if he is angry for instance he may seem more powerful but it is only becuase he is using more power then he may relize. he's at the top of his game when he is calm, and collective. since moving in here he has shown several signs of depression. every now and then his outputs spark with happiness but it's usualy short lived." by then mike had lept down from the ceiling and was now standing sideays on one of the walls. "Eric is not getting 3 of the energy he absorbs, it just vanishes and cannot be used. from what we have seen in the last 12 hours I cannot say that I don't understand why. Scott your obsessed with knowing everything there is to know about Eric. if you really want to know Eric's secret then get to know him. that is one thing Kurt has done that none of you have. Kurt has talked to Eric, hung out with him after school and even shared some of his life story with Eric. as it is Eric may be pulled off this mission now they we've been blown. now if you don't mind we're going to leave now. goodbye." with that mike and savana just walked out of the mansion.

**GREEK ISLAND, IOS**

Eric slowly began to wake up. the early morning sunlight was filtering through the curtains, and blinds. Kurt was currently curled up on the right side of bed and looked like he was in danger of falling off the bed. Eric smiled to humself and rolled Kurt over so he was in the center of the bed. Eric grinned to himself and moved so he was sitting on the side of the bed. a minute or 2 later Kurt let out a low moan and sat up. Eric smiled at him. "morning dear how did you sleep?" Kurt chuckled and looked over to Eric. "not bad. wish I could have continued my dream though." Eric raised an eyebrow. "and just what was so great about your dream?" Kurt smiled and moved so he was leaning against Eric's side. "Oh nothing besides the fact that you and i were having a romantic candle light dinner. Eric chuckled. "note to self have candle light dinner." Kurt raised an eyebrow. "smart-ass. " Eric shrugged. "You know you love me." Kurt nodded. "yeah but I don't know why." Eric smiled and pulled Kurt into a deep kiss. a few moments later they broke apart due to a knock at the door. "hey Eric wake up. we're going to see the facility in half an hour. so get dressed and get ready." Eric sighed and shook his head. "sorry Kurt, but duty calls." Kurt nodded and began to get ready with Eric.

half an hour later Eric and Kurt emerged from their room fully dressed and ready for the day. as they came down the stairs hand in hand they got several looks from other guests. however they were not the looks Kurt had expected. he had thought that they would show disguesd even resentment, but they were looks of aprovement and even joy as they passed. as the entered the front office they met, fisk, adam, and sky. Eric nodded to them and said his goodbyes to Kurt. a moment later gravel flew out from under their tires as Eric and the others made their way to the facility. Kurt stood on the steps of the hotel and watched them until he could no longer see them. then a voice from behind spoke. "you not doing anything today?" Kurt jumped and spun around only to find vallerie leaning against one of the walls. Kurt sighed and shook his head. "No I don't thinkso. not until Eric comes back at least. why?" vallerie shrugged. "well I was just wondering if you would like to hang with me today. Eric's told me a lot about you and I would like to see if those things are true." Kurt smiled and nodded. "sure I would love to spend the day with you." vallerie smiled. "ooooo he's cute and polite. Eric hooked himself a good one. come on, I'll show you around the island."

a little while later Kurt found himself in another jeep with vallerie bouncing their way down to the beach. a few minutes later they came to a stop infront of a small shop on the outskirts of the beach. vallerie hopped out and looked to Kurt, who was shakely getting out of the jeep. "this shop sells wet suits and diving equipment go inside and find a suit that fits. I'm going to take you diveing around the island. tell them to put your purches on my tab." Kurt nodded and moved inside the shop. it was obvious from the suits inside that they were not ment for humans. they had several that looked more like large body shapped rugs then anything else. as he made his way through the tangle of fabric a man came up to him. "can i help you find anything sir?" Kurt smiled and nodded. "yes I need a suit that can fit my unique form." the man looked him up and down and then smiled. I think I have just the thing. the man hurried to the back of the shop and soon returned with a medium sized box. a few minutes later Kurt found himself leaveing the shop wearing his first ever wet suit. Kurt thanked the man as he left and made his way down to the beach. as he set foot on the white sand he smiled and began to scan the beach for vallerie. a moment later he found her loading scuba suplies into a large speed boat.

"permition to come abord captain." vallerie smiled and nodded. "permision granted private smart-ass." Kurt chuckled and 'bamfed' to were vallerie was standing. vallerie smiled at this, started up the boat, and sped off into the open ocean. as they sped along vallerie and Kurt chatted lightly. finaly after half an hour vallerie slowed the boat and brought it to a stop. vallerie handed Kurt a tank and a mask. after several minutes Kurt and vallerie dropped over the edge of the boat and dove down into the water. once again Kurt was speechless at the world around him. brightly colored fish swam in every dirrection trying to get away from him. all around him rocks sat sunken into the sands at the bottom of the ocean. all around them plants, and coral grew and flourished. the sunlight filtered down through the water giving everything a sparkly glowing look. for what felt like hours they both just swam in a small area. fianly after hours vallerie pointed up as she and Kurt swam back to the boat. after climbing back on board vallerie smiled and looked to Kurt. "so how did you like it?" Kurt just sat there speechless. vallerie smiled. "yeah they all say that. come on I'm going to give you the sea side tour of the island." with that vallerie turned the engine on and sped of around the island. the whole tour lasted about 4 hours but Kurt hardly noticed the time passing. the island was huge.

they had passed rolling beaches, covered in people. other parts of the island were dense trees and greenery so thyick you could hardly see throught them. still other parts were open plains that seemed to wave at you with the slightest breeze. even then there was more rock arches that arched into the water from the land. as they sped along vallerie told Kurt about the island's history. legend said that the island was home to a human that managed to charm the godess of music. although theycould never be together the godess bless the island with eternal song. as they sped along Kurt could feel that the island had a kind of beat to it that flet like the beat to a song. it was nearly 5 Oclock when they came back into port, and almost 5:30 when they pulled into the hotel driveway. as Kurt got out of the jeep he heard someone call his name. Kurt turned and found Eric standing right behind him. no sooner had Kurt turned then Eric pulled him into a huge hug and kiss. as they broke apart Kurt smiled and spoke. "how way your day dear?" Eric grinned. "not bad dear." Eric chuckled as they walked up the steps and into the hotel. several minutes later Kurt had changed out of his wetsuit and put on a set of baggy cargo jeans and a compresion shirt.

as Kurt walked out of the room Eric let out a low whistle. Kurt blushed slightly and put his hand behind his head. "do you like the look?" Eric chcukled and put his arms around Kurt's waist. "like the look. you may have to beat me off with a stick." Kurt felt his blush creep further down his face. Eric chuckled and intertwined his fingers with Kurt's. as they walked down the stairs they once again were met with aproving stares. Eric led Kurt through the doors out to the deck looking out over the ocean. as Kurt and Eric walked onto the balcony Kurt let out a small chuckle. set up next to the railing was a small table with 2 candles on it. as they neared it out of the corner of his eye, Kurt saw Eric wink his left eye. both candles burst into life, letting off a low glow, of golden light. as Kurt sat down he felt he could not help but feel touched. Eric had done what he ahd promised and given them a candle lit dinner. as they ate their way through garlic roasted chicken, smoked salmon, fruits, and vegetables, Kurt felt his love for Eric grow, to a new level. **(wow that was cheesy) **as they finished eating Eric picked up his galss and raised it. "toast, to the continuation of us." Kurt smiled and drank deeply from his glass of wine. they were about to get up when Kurt's ears picked up on a noise. out of the corner of Kurt's gaze he found the source of the noise.

on the far side of the deck, a bush had been planted. hiding behind the bushes were half a dozen teenage, girls. Eric chuckled, stood up and moved closer so only Kurt could hear him. "why don't we give them something to talk about?" Kurt was about to ask what Eric ment when he found himself pulled into a deep kiss. as the kiss deepened Kurt felt Eric's tounge touch his lips. he opened his mouth almost out of refelx. Kurt's eye closed as the kissed went even deeper. as they kissed Eric could hear the girls gasping, and giggling from their spot behind the bushes. as Kurt and Eric broke apart, Kurt found that he was no longer in his seat. he found himself pressed firmly against Eric's body, with Eric's arms around his waist. Kurt looked dreamily into Eric's eyes. it was like a scene right out of a movie. him pressed up against Eric. nehind them the sun setting, as the waved crashed against the rocks below the deck. a few moments after they had broke apart Eric spoke. "you know it's not nice to spy on you lovers." Kurt raised an eyebrow, he had momentarily forgotten about thier audiance in the heat of the kiss. Eric smiled as the girl hurried from their hiding spot. "shall we go into town? I hear their having a festival." Kurt smiled dreamily and followed Eric down to the hotel garage.

a few minutes later Kurt found himself sitting passenger side in a hotel jeep on their way to the local town. a short ride later Kurt and Eric found themselves in the heart of downtown. as they made their way through the town Kurt moved closer to Eric. they had just taken a seat at a local caffae to catch theitr breath when music started up all around them. a man in the center of the park sat on a small bench infront of a grand piano. as they watched he began to sing.

"Step one you say we need to talk, he walks, you say sit down it's just a talk.

He smiles politely back at you, you stare poiltely right on through.  
Some sort of window to your right  
As he goes left and you stay right  
Between the lines of fear and blame  
And you begin to wonder why you came  
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best  
Cause after all you do know best  
Try to slip past his defense  
Without granting innocence  
Lay down a list of what is wrong  
The things you've told him all along  
And pray to God he hears you

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life

As he begins to raise his voice  
You lower yours and grant him one last choice  
Drive until you lose the road  
Or break with the ones you've followed  
He will do one of two things  
He will admit to everything  
Or he'll say he's just not the same  
And you'll begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life"

as the music came to a stop Eric asnd Kurt apladed along with everyone else. as the aplause continued Kurt and Eric got up and began to walk around again. for the next few hours they walked around and viewed much of the local culture. they were out so long that by the time they made it back to the hotel it was almost 5 in the morning. as they closed the door to their room Kurt felt Eric pull him close. Kurt let out a low moan as he felt Eric's hands move under his shirt and across his chest. Kurt felt his body shudder as Eric began to kiss his neck. Eric grinned to himself as he kissed his way up Kurt's neck. slowly Kurt turned so he was facing Eric. a short while later Eric and Kurt found themselves curled up uder the covers, in little more then their boxers. **(no they did not have sex, not yet anyways.) **

as the morning sun shown it moved it's rays into the room of 2 sleeping lovers. Kurt Wagner age 16 was fast asleep, with eirc's arms curled around his waist. Eric himself was holding Kurt closly against his chest. slowly the sun's rays began to move through the room until they shown directly into the faces of Kurt, and Eric. Kurt began to stir first. Moaning slightly Kurt opened his eyes. it took his a moment to relize where he was and how he had gotten there. then it all came back to him, last night the festival, the kissing. Kurt's body shuddered as he remembered how it had felt to be held like that by Eric. Kurt was about to move when he felt Eric's grip on him tighten. Kurt smiled as he felt Eric slowly kiss his shoulder. "nice to see your awake." Eric chuckled. "Speak for yourself, I like my sleep. it help give me ideas of thing to try on you." Kurt smiled and lay back down next to Eric. Eric grinned and pulled Kurt closer to him. for a little while Kurt lay there next to Eric. they would have stayed that way for the day if a knock had not come to their door. "yo Eric, get up! Tesla and Adam found a ghost code in the security program we have about 2 hours till we head back to the facility. get packed and ready to leave." Kurt sighed and made his way to the bathroom for a shower. as Kurt left the room Eric began to recal the day before.

**12 HOURS AGO**

as the jeeps bounced away from the hotel Eric could not help but watch as Kurt fell away until he could not be seen anymore. as Eric turned to face the front fisk chuckled. Eric raised an eyebrow and spoke. "what?!" fisk chuckled. "could you like him more?" Eric smiled. "fisk you should know, I don't like Kurt. I love him." as Eric sat there he could feel the energy of the island change from the unsual calmness of the main island to the more drone like energy surronding the facility. as the jeeps pulled up to the facility Eric sent out several magnetic pulces. as the waves traveled through the buildings they sent back readings of personal energy levels. that being said within 15 seconds of getting out of the jeep he could tell how poweful everyone in the facility was. as he made his way through the facilitie's he could feel a sence of tension through out the building. a little while later the group turned into a small hallway and a minute later emerged into a room with a door and plain walls. carfully Eric opened the door and moved inside. the room was a gym to be more precise the gym the girl had been found in. slowly carfully Eric and the group made their way to the pool where the girl had been found. acording to the computer logs grace had been swimming laps when she had been attacked. however the computer could not tell them who had attacked her. As they entered the pool area they found that the area had not been changed since they had found the body. The pool was completely frozen over. Every drop of water in the pool was frozen in a massive block of ice.

Fisk sighed and turned to Eric. "I'll check out the locker rooms. Maybe there is a scent in there from something the attacker wore or had on." Eric nodded and crouched down next to the pool. As far as his powers would let him see, the ice had not changed since the attack. Infact the ice showed no signs of melting, to be sure Eric sent several small heat pulces through the ice. Eric's eyebrows rose as the ice repelled the heat like his own body would. Infact the ice seemed to absorb the heat as it passed around the ice. Eric shrugged stood up and made his way to the nearest wall. It showed no signs that there had been a struggle in the room. Eric turned back to the pool and sighed again. The report siad that a scientist had found the body and had called security. Within 5 minutes the entire facility had been locked down. No one had been allowed in or out, not only that but no one had been allowed to be within 500 meters of the facility. As Eric began to look around the room Adam spoke. "well there is nothing on the surveillance systems. Sky's been going over them for the last 3 hours. It looks like there was some kind of electrical surge about a minute before the attack started. No one logged it because they had been told work was being done. Everyone thought it was a mistake on the workers part. Who ever did this could not have picked a more perfect way to hide their crime. Whoever did this knew what would be happening in the base and knew how to kill her. Eric……. I think we might have to consider that we may have a rat in the works." Eric stood up and glanced at Adam. "maybe. who ever did this has not been with exo-gene for very long. Check all the reports of mutants or scientists who have joined in the last 15 months. Also check all security codes and passwords, focus on ghost codes and proxies. If a code was used I want to know, who used it, how they got it, and what the code was." Adam nodded and looked around the room. "sp what are you thinking?" Eric shook his head. "honestly I don't know. The ice seems to resist heat so it's not normal. My guess there was a struggle someone froze her, but the attack was strong enough to effect the pool. Other than that I cant tell you anymore Then that." Adam nodded and left. Eric Tapped his throut mike and spoke. "well guys I'm heading back I've seen all I need to see. Bye." With that Eric left the compound and made his way back to the hotel.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Eric sighed and stood up. As he put on his shirt, he heard Kurt come out of the bathroom. Eric smiled at him and pulled Kurt into a tight hug. "sorry about having to leave. I promise we'll spend more time later. Bye." Still grinning sheepishly Eric left the room and made his way back to the compound. Kurt silently sat down on the edge of the bed. a few minutes later Kurt emerged from the room fully dressed in a tanktop and shorts. As Kurt made his way to the front he could not help but feel a little sad. He had been hoping that he would be able to spend some time with Eric today. As Kurt left the hotel he began to look around. A few minutes later Kurt popped down to the beach. As he walked across the sand he felt his bad feelings begin to fade away. Smiling to himself Kurt walked down the beach till he found a place that felt nice. Still smiling Kurt spread his towel and laid out in the sun. a few hours later Kurt made his way back to the hotel. Since he had laid out in the sun for the past few hours, he now had a slightly darker tone to his blue skin. Smiling to himself Kurt had just tossed his towel in the hamper when he heard Eric's voice. "well Kurt I must say you look better with the tan." Kurt smiled as he felt Eric pull him into a hug. A little while later Eric and Kurt found themselves out on the balcony looking over the ocean. "so what did you find out about the ghost code?" Eric shrugged and sighed. "Well it looks like this is wrapped up. We'll be going back to the states, tomorrow." Kurt nodded and leaned closer to Eric. "Thanks for taking me with you on this trip. I had a lot of fun." Eric smiled and began to scratch behind Kurt behind the ears. "thanks for coming. I'm glad you had fun. I just wish we could have spent more time with each other." Kurt smiled and once again they fell into silence, it was a few minutes before either of them spoke again. "Eric……. I've had some time to think and………. Well I'd like to tell the others about us."

Eric looked at Kurt with a slightly surprised look on his face. "Kurt…… are you sure?" Kurt looked at him. "Yeah, why?" Eric sighed. "I don't want to discourage you Kurt, but…… well I don't want you to do this on a whim. I lost a lot of friends when I came out. I don't want you to go though the same thing I did. I just………. Want you to be happy." Kurt smiled and moved so he could be even closer to Eric. "Thanks for your concern but I think I want to do this. I don't want to live a secret life that no one else knows about." Eric smiled and nodded. "I can understand that, but you should be ready for a few changes, around the mansion. It is very likely that some of your friends might act different around you at first." Kurt nodded and smiled as he felt Eric begin to kiss his neck, and shoulders. For the rest of the night they both watched the sunset.

As the sun finished setting Eric picked up Kurt and carried him back into the room. A moment later Eric dropped Kurt onto the bed and began to creep up to him like a predator sneaking up on its prey. Kurt let out a low moan as Eric began to kiss his way up Kurt's neck. As Eric did this he slowly snuck his hand up Kurt's shirt. Kurt let out an even louder moan as Eric began to massage his chest, and stomach. Kurt could feel his excitement beginning to affect him. Eric grinned as he felt Kurt begin to shift around trying to hide his excitement. Eric smiled and looked Kurt in the eyes. "Kurt……… do you want this?" Kurt looked up into Eric's eye and nodded. eric smiled and moved closer to kurt, pulling him into a tight grip.

A:N)well it has finaly happened. The next big step in their relaytionship. Sorry if you thought their was going to be a lemon but I cant write lemons at all. If you want you can write one and send it in. I'll add it to this chapter and repost. Until next time.


	11. warning: yaoi lemon

_Eric looked at Kurt with a slightly surprised look on his face. "Kurt…… are you sure?" Kurt looked at him. "Yeah, why?" Eric sighed. "I don't want to discourage you Kurt, but…… well I don't want you to do this on a whim. I lost a lot of friends when I came out. I don't want you to go though the same thing I did. I just………. Want you to be happy." Kurt smiled and moved so he could be even closer to Eric. "Thanks for your concern but I think I want to do this. I don't want to live a secret life that no one else knows about." Eric smiled and nodded. "I can understand that, but you should be ready for a few changes, around the mansion. It is very likely that some of your friends might act different around you at first." Kurt nodded and smiled as he felt Eric begin to kiss his neck, and shoulders. For the rest of the night they both watched the sunset._

**CHAPTER**** 11**

slowly Kurt began to wake up. golden sunlight was filtering through the curtain into their room. Kurt could not help but smile as he shifted in the bed. Eric's arms were wrapped tightly around his waist. slowly the memories began to come back to him. the memories of what they had done the night before.

FLASHBACK

Kurt nodded as he felt Eric begin to kiss his neck and shoulders. Kurt let out a moan as he felt Eric's hands begin to move from around his waist. a second later he let out a loud "epp" as Eric lifted him off the ground and pulled his closer. Kurt felt his body shudder as Eric continued to kiss him. a moment later Kurt found that Eric had taken them into the bathroom and had set him down on the vanity. Kurt felt Eric's hands move from around him to slowly inching themselfs up under his shirt. Kurt felt a warm flush creep slowly up his body until his cound not escape the the strange heat that was encasing his body. Kurt let out another yelp as Eric gripped both sides of his shirts and pulled. the flimsy cotton, gave way with a loud ripping noice. Kurt felt the cool night air lick his chest and stomach. Kurt let out a low shudder as the cold night air began to work it's way through his skin. Eric seeing this smiled and pulled Kurt even closer to him. Kurt smiled and gripped Eric's wrist. a second later both of them vanished and reappeared however Eric was missing his shirt.

Eric raised an eyebrow as Kurt grinned sheepishly. Eric smiled and pulled Kurt closer so their chests were touching each other. As Kurt looked in Eric eyes he felt Eric gripped his waist. A split second later he spun Kurt around so Kurt's back was against his chest. Kurt tail had always been sensitive so when Eric took the whole end of it and began to suck on it Kurt's eyes rolled back into his head.. Eric smiled to himself as he felt Kurt push back against his body for support. For a long while they both just stood there Eric sucking on Kurt's tail and Kurt trying his best not to fall over, with the pleasure. After what felt like hours Kurt became aware that Eric's hands had moved from their place around his waist and were now slowly travels under the lip of his jeans. Kurt let out a gasp and arched his back as Eric's hands brushed passed his swollen member. Grinning to himself Eric slowly began to pull down Kurt's pants until gravity took over and they fell to the ground with a muffled 'thump'. Kurt felt the cool night air hit his legs and let out a shiver. Almost at once he felt Eric pull him closer for warmth and comfort. A moment later another dull thump and Kurt felt Eric spin him around again. Kurt felt Eric capture his lip in a deep kiss. As he did this Eric pulled Kurt off the ground, almost at once he felt Kurt wrap his tail and legs around his waist. As Eric and Kurt broke the kiss Kurt felt Eric beginning to move them from the vanity. A second later a small 'click'' and the door to the shower opened.

A second later the door closed and Kurt's tail wrapped itself around the shower dial. A second later they both let out a yelp of surprise as cold water rained down on them from them from above. A few moments later the water began to heat up and they began to move around again. As the water rained down on them Eric began to kiss his way down Kurt's neck and chest. Kurt let out a loud moan as Eric began to lick his abs. a moment later Eric slowly gripped Kurt's underwear and began to slowly pull them down, giving Kurt the chance to stop him. Kurt did not know what to do. On the one hand he wanted to be with Eric in this way, but on the other hand he was very VERY nervous. Slowly Eric took his tounge away from Kurt's abs and moved back to Kurt pulling him into a deep kiss. A second later Kurt's eyes went wide and he shuddered as he felt one Eric's hand dip into his underwear and wrap itself around his enlarged member.

Kurt's legs trembled as he felt Eric's hand grip 'him'. A moment later a wet 'thud' sounded as his underwear was pulled off of his figure. In the midst of pleasure Kurt's tail hooked itself under Eric's boxers and yank them off so hard that they flew through the air and hit the other side of the shower. Kurt felt like his skin was on fire. Eric's kisses were like small explotions of pleasure as his hand gently tightened and lossened it grip. As Eric broke away from Kurt's kiss he leaned in next to his ear. "I've got a little surprise for you." Something about the way Eric said that sent another shudder of his spine. Eric released his grip on Kurt's member and crouched down so he was level with 'little' Kurt. Kurt relized what Eric was going to do about a second before he did it. kurt's eyes bulged slightly as he felt eric's mouth and tounge wrap around his member. kurt's grip on the wall tightened as eric continued his ministrations on his member.

it felt like nothing else in the world. kurt could feel eric's tounge moving across and over his member. a few seconds later kurt felt eric's mouth leave his memeber. a second later kurt felt his body jerk and he slid his way down to the floor of the tub. eric was licking the very tip of his cock like an ice cream cone. after a moment he chcukled and spoke. "you know I joke that people get blue balls but in your case i guess it's an actuality for you." kurt was about to respond when eric pushed the skin on his member back and ran his rough tounge across it. For what felt like an eternity they stayed like that. Kurt laying on the floor and Eric licking his member. Then all at once pleasure seemed to erupt into life. Kurt's muscles locked up as the pleasure shot from his mind to his body. "Eric!" a moment later Eric was kissing him feirsly. Slowly the pleasure began to subside and Kurt's muscles began to loosen.

Eric smiled and leaned closer to Kurt's ear. "Kurt…… we don't have to go any further if you don't want to. I wont force you into this." Kurt smiled nuzzled closer to Eric. "thank you." Eric smiled and with a twitch of his eyebrow used his power to turn the water off. Still smiling Eric picked Kurt up off the floor and pulled him into his arms. Carefuly so as not to fall Eric stepped out of the tub and continued to kiss Kurt. A second later Kurt grabbed them a towel with his tail. Smilling Eric set Kurt down and wrapped them both up with the towel. Kurt let out another small moan as their bodies pressed closer together. Eric grinned and let spun himself around so Kurt was the only one in the towel. Still grinned he lifted Kurt off the ground and held him bridal style. Slowly Eric carried Kurt into the bed room and set him down on the bed. Slowly Kurt pulled the blankets over Eric and himself, his mind still buzzing about what they had just done. His mind was moving so fast he was sure he would not be able to get to sleep, but when Eric wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed his neck all his thoughts just seemed to melt away.

END OF FLASHBACK

As the memories flowed back to him he could not help but blush slightly. A moment later he felt Eric roll over and wake up. Kurt chuckled as Eric slowly looked around the room, and then to him. "Morning sweetie." Eric smiled. "Morning honey." Kurt smiled as he felt Eric pull him closer. "Almost a shame we have to leave." Eric nodded and sighed. "yeah I know what you mean but Savanna and Mike have their own lives to live. We've taken up enough of their time. As it is I assume Xavier and the others have found out that we're gone." Kurt nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I don't think he'll be to happy about us leaving. Also Scott is probably out for your blood right now." Eric sighed. "I wish I knew why he doesn't trust me. As it is I'm really only friends with you and storm." Kurt nodded and then spoke something that had been on his mind since last night. "Eric…… when we get back to the mansion…… I'd like to tell them about us." Eric smiled at him. "It's your choice Kurt. I won't force you into anything you don't want." Kurt had never felt more in love with Eric then he did at that moment. Slowly kurt kissed Eric. As the kiss deepened Kurt let out a low moan and rolled so he was on top of Eric. A few minutes later they found something to share between just them.

XAVIER MANSION

As the x-men made their way to school they began to hear a low level whining coming from behind them. As spyke turned he caught sight of Eric's bike carrying savanna and mike, 'in' Eric and Kurt's form. As they sped past mike pulled down his eyelid and stuck out his tongue. A moment later they sped past and shot down towards school. Kitty rolled her eyes, and looked at jean. "How long do we have to deal with those 2?" jean shrugged. "they said they were covering for Eric and Kurt until they got back from their trip." Rouge moved closer to speak. "yeah but why did Eric choose Kurt. I mean there plenty of more powerful mutants, at exo-gene or even in the mansion. Why did he choose Kurt?" spyke shrugged. "Who knows why Eric does what he does. As it is savanna has a point, about us. Other then the crawler none of us have really tried to get to know Eric." Kitty nodded and looked the other way. It was then that Scott spoke. "Well I know one way we could find out. Eric said they have the complete profiles of every exo-gene member online. Why don't we just look him up? Spyke shook his head. "Scott you need to let this go. Eric has made it very clear that he has no intention of joining us. Just leave him alone." Scott shook his head. "Look he came in here and began to do his own thing regardless of what anyone says. We need to find out why he does all these things. You might look but I'm going to." With that Scott left the group and made his way to the library. Once there he pulled a computer and logged on to the net. Within 3 minutes he was on the exo-gene site. A few seconds later he had pulled up the profiles of half a dozen employees.

A few moments later a search bar popped up in the right corner of the screen. Carefully Scott typed in E. R. I. C. T. O. O. M. S.. A loading bar appeared and then a second later a page popped up. Scott leaned forward and began to read. 'Eric tooms was born on March 22, 1992. His parents were and still are world renowned geneticist so when he manifested they were obviously thrilled. Several months later they threw him out due to a 'social engineering' problem. For a few months Eric travel the world observing the troubles mutants had to deal with. A few days later Eric joined exo-gene and began to fund massive programs to help better the lives of mutants. To this day Eric has donated over 12 billion dollars to exo-gene programs. It was a small link at the bottom of the page that caught Scott's attention. The link read simply, Eric's profile. Scott clicked it and a second later 2 pictures popped up above an article. The article read, Eric's tragedy in life. 'June 5th, 2001. Tragedy struck Eric tooms today at 3;50 in the afternoon. The tragedy came in the form of the passing of Eric's long time lover Jason Danier, age 16. Eric and Jason had been seeing each other for the past year and a half.'

Scott started at that line for a full 15 seconds. 'had been seeing'. Scott looked up from the screen and stared off into space. Eric….. had been seeing…… another man….. as in………. dating? Scott looked back at the article. 'at 5:30 in the afternoon the following week Jason Danier was laid to rest at cold creek cemetery, in Idaho his home town. After the funeral Eric would only say that Jason deserved eternal happiness, after his 6 month long fight with lymphoma. After Jason's death Eric threw himself into his work at exo-gene stating simply that Jason would have wanted it. However a single ray of hope gleamed in his life, in the form of a young researcher by the name John Salva. For several weeks they worked closely together and had even been seen outside of work several times. While attending a charity ball at fort Dan worth, Eric said they were happy to be together and john helped to heal the whole left in Eric's heart by the passing of Jason. Below the article was a, link that leads to a page about Jason. A second after clicking it the page popped open.

Jason Salva, was a 16 year old high school dropout, but not for the common reasons. Jason dropped out stating that he had no interest in learning what was required, he wanted to learn what was practical. Less than 2 hours after dropping out Jason had over a dozen offers from several technical engineering collages. He denied all offers, stating that he already had a job. The next day Jason moved to California and began a new job with stark industries. However less than 5 months later he left his job stating his powers were a god given gift and he should be using them not to harm others but to help them. Shortly after leaving stark's employ he joined exo-gene and began working closely with Eric tooms, on a private project.' The article continued but Scott closed down the internet, and got up. In a daze he made his way to his first class and sat down. A few rows in front of him savanna sat in Eric's form. But Scott did not see her, he was to stunned. It was just starting to sink in. Eric Tooms… the boy who had been living with them for the past 6 months……. was gay. Then all at once several things hit him at once. Eric was gay! Not only that but Jason and john his exes. All at once the bell rang and the class ended. Scott jumped and left the room. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he had not notice the time had passed. For the next few periods Scott was in a daze as more and more became clear about Eric. By the time lunch had rolled around the daze was beginning to wear off. Scott grabbed his lunch and sat down with the others. "did you guys know Eric's gay?" even toad looked at him and then shook his head. "dude this is your saddest attempt yet." Scott shook his head. "I'm telling the truth, I found it on his profile, for exo-gene. He's had 2 boyfriends." Jean looked up from her lunch and scowled. "Scott that is enough, Stop trying to ruin Eric's name and reputation." She was about to say more when 'Eric' and 'Kurt' joined them. (from now on I'm going to call savanna and mike, as Eric and Kurt.) Eric sat down and looked at Scott. Without any preamble she spoke, in a blunt tone. "So you know Eric's secret?"

Scott smirked and nodded. Savanna rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Well I guess Eric should be relieved. He was really worried about how to break the news to all of you, although Kurt knows. Everyone looked up at that. Toad spoke first. "How does blue boy know?" Eric shrugged, and smiled. "Once again that's not for me to say; only Kurt and Eric have the right to tell you." With that Eric and Kurt got up and left the group. Toad looked at Scott and huffed. "Listen here, summers. I don't care if Eric's gay, straight, or some kind of none combo no one has ever heard of before. It doesn't change how I think of him. So if you don't mind I'm leaving." With that he got up and moved to join Eric and Kurt who had taken a seat on the other side of the court yard. Scott turned to the other only to find them glaring at him. Kitty spoke next. "What do you have against him? Eric's shown no sign of wanting to take over and you still try to discredit him, well I'm with toad and the others. Eric's preference does not change who he is." And with that she got up and joined toad, Eric and Kurt. A moment later the rest of them got up and moved to join the others. Scott let out a yell of anger and stormed off.

From an unseen section of the court yard lance grinned, evilly. He had been running around the group during the whole conversation. As such he had heard every word. Now the brotherhood had a way to hurt Eric. Still grinning he made his way to mystique's office to tell her what he had heard.

IOS ISLAND

Eric and Kurt both made their way down the winding stair case to the lobby with their bags. Valerie who had been reading a book behind the counter looked up and raised an eyebrow at the slightly scarlet color across both Eric's and Kurt's face. Without saying a word, Valerie checked them out and wished them good luck on their trip, back. As they made their way out of the hotel Kurt found that Fisk, bio, Adam and sky were all waiting for them with a slightly awkward look on their faces. Neither Eric, nor Kurt made any comment but got into their jeep and sped off to the beach and their boat home. After the hour long boat ride to the main land they boarded another private plane and were headed back to the USA within the hour. As the plane made it's way closer to the USA they all talked and had a generally good time. As the plane landed in the airport Eric became aware of another source of massive energy, 'physic' energy. As Eric left the plane he looked around as he could feel the energy surrounding him, watching him. As they left the airport they all said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Fisk, to the local military base, bio back to exo-gene, Adam and sky back to their condo on the east side of town.

As Eric and Kurt rode the taxi back to the mansion, Eric continued to feel the energy watching him. As the taxi drove off Eric and Kurt turned back to the mansion and made their way to their rooms. As they entered the front door they found Logan, storm, and Xavier, standing there waiting, for him. As they stood there in the front door Xavier looked at Eric and spoke. "Library, 10 minutes." With that he wheeled himself away. Logan shook his head and left. Storm, raised an eyebrow and spoke. "well you've created a big problem. You really should tell us before you leave, with one of our team members." Eric shrugged, and spoke. "Alright maybe I screwed up but don't kill me just yet. Wait until I explain myself." Storm shook her head and left the room leaving only Eric and Kurt. Eric sighed as he and Kurt made their way to their rooms to unpack. 10 minutes later both of them walked into the library to find not only Xavier but Scott, jean, kitty, and spyke waiting for them. Eric rolled his eyes and sat down next to Kurt. There was a long silence and then Xavier spoke. "what made you think it was OK for you to take one of the x-men and leave without telling anyone?" Eric sighed. "Look exo-gene gave a job, I did my job get off my back." Xavier shook his head. "no. what you did was reckless and irresponsible. Not only did you risk exposing yourself and Kurt but you left my team one member short. What if Kurt had been needed?" Eric shrugged. 'you would have survived without him." Xavier slammed his fist down on his arm rest a gesture that none of them had seen. "how can you do this. You openly and knowingly almost exposed us all."

Eric stood up and spoke in a very angry voice. "Don't you DARE tell me what I _almost_ did Xavier. There is one difference between me and you. It's how we view mutants. I think mutants she be out loud and proud of what they are. You however take to hiding in the shadows and playing hit and run with your enemies. Magneto has the right idea. Mutants need liberation now or the humans will have a reason to fear us. Even at exo-gene many mutants show a disliking of humans. I may have some influence over the mutant population but I can't fight a full scale war and keep humans from wiping us out at the same time. I can't and won't stop the mutant population from fighting. If it comes to war I'll step aside and let it happen." Xavier sighed and folded his hands together. "why did you take Kurt?" Eric rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I would have thought that was obvious. How much do you really know about me?" at the Xavier fell silent. Eric smirked. "that's what I thought. I chose Kurt for 2 reasons. 1 he knows me and hence would seem like the right person to take on this trip. He would do as I said without a second thought. But he would also stand up to me if I told him to do something morally wrong. 2 exo-gene is considering hiring him as a locator." Kurt looked at Eric who shrugged. "I'm not supposed to tell you that but I've broke a few rules already by talking about it here in the first place." Kurt spoke. "what is a locator?" Eric smiled and shrugged. "a locator find mutants and tells them about exo-gene. It's their job to give mutants an option to join. This whole mission was not only an investigation but also a test to see if you had some of the qualities of a locator. This particular mission tested, you ability to follow requests and know when to stay out of things. You could have asked to come to the lab but you didn't and when I asked you not to ask about the job you didn't. a locator needs to know when to take no for a answer and when to know not to get involved with another mutants affairs. We're not heroes, just give people a chance at a better life."

Eric turned to Xavier. "Look you don't approve of me I'm used to that. Even exo-gene has a small problem with how I do thing but I get the job done so they don't say anything. Sooner or later people are going to learn about what goes on behind these walls and when they do it's not going to be pretty. I'm working so that we don't have to hide." With that he turned and began to walk away. Once he was at the door he stopped and looked at the room. "the lines between good and bad are starting to blur Xavier are you sure your fighting the right person?" with that he closed the door and was gone. S slowly the group's eyes turned to Kurt. Xavier spoke first. "Why did you go with him?" Kurt stood up and rolled his eyes. "Why should I tell you? You've already decided what you want to hear. You've already passed judgment on Eric's choices. I did what I did because Eric asked me to join him no other reason. Well I suppose I did want to go to Greece. No if you don't mind I have to study what we missed, during our trip." And with that Kurt 'bamfed' out of the library and into Eric's room. Eric was next to his door and looked up as Kurt 'entered' the room. Eric was crouched down over a small tripod with a spinning circular top. Kurt raised an eyebrow and Eric spoke. "Physic nullifier. I don't want Xavier or jean to 'eves drop on what we're doing in here." Kurt raised his eyebrow even higher as Eric moved away from the tripod and laid himself down on his bed. "Just what will we be doing in this room that you don't want people to see?" Eric smiled and pulled Kurt's tail in to a huge hug. "Why Kurt, anything we want. It's _my _room after all." Kurt felt his skin heat up as Eric ran the end of his tail around his neck and finally took the tip of it into his mouth, letting out a slight 'mmmm' as he did so. Kurt let out a slight moan as he felt Eric's tongue slid slowly across the sensitive skin on his tail. after a few minutes Kurt moved closer to Eric and began to slowly scratch his head. This continued for several hours until the sky had turned dark blue as the sun finally vanished behind the mountains. Slowly Kurt turned to Eric and nuzzled closer. Eric smiled and pulled Kurt closer. "Tonight I think I'd like it if we spent another night together." Kurt looked at him for a moment and then nodded. Shortly after that Eric and Kurt found themselves snuggled closely together and fast asleep.

When the sun rose into the morning sky it had a very, a perfect view into Eric's room. This gave it the unobstructed view of 2 lovers fast asleep, in the same bed. Kurt woke first to find himself with his arms, legs and tail wrapped tightly around his sleeping boyfriend Eric Tooms. Slowly both of them began to stir and wake up. Kurt Wagner stood up and stretched only to be pulled back down into bed by Eric. "it's to early to wake up." Kurt raised an eyebrow, and smiled. "not all of us can do work and still sleep. I have training with the team and then homework to do." Eric rolled his eyes and turned over so he was lying on his back. "Well if you have to don't let this stop you." Kurt was about to ask what Eric was talking about when Eric grabbed him and pulled him into a deep kiss. Kurt felt his body, begin to relax as the kiss prolonged itself. After several second Kurt and Eric broke apart from lack of air. Eric had on a slight smirk on his face as he looked at the slightly dazed Kurt. Kurt felt like his head was spinning, in the clouds. He couldn't help but smile a slightly dazed smiled. Still smiling Kurt got up out of the bed and shook his finger at Eric. "Now none of that, I really have to go. You don't want Scott to be any madder at you. Do you?" Eric shrugged and rolled over back onto his stomach. "well, when you put it like that, yes. It's kind of fun to see him grasping at straws in the dark, trying to find something on me." Kurt shook his head and shrugged. "You've got a bit of a mean streak in you Eric Tooms." Eric shrugged and pulled the covers over his head. Kurt rolled his eyes and after a few minutes emerged from Eric's room fully clothed and ready to start the day. Eric sighed and sat up the bed covers falling revealing his well toned chest and stomach. Sighing Eric got up and let the covers fall back to the bed in a heap.

Eric stretched and sleepily made his way to the bathroom. After several minutes of morning chores he emerged and stretched again. Still yawning Eric sat down at his desk and pulled up a dozen screens and began to work. He was behind on several reports and he had not had any time to do them in the last 2 months, because he had been so occupied with spending time with Kurt. Smiling to himself Eric pulled up a dozen reports and began to work on them he had just sent them when an audio file pooped up from Bio. "Hey Eric just thought you should know exo-gene finally found a match for the dead girl's DNA. Her name is Alice Cullen. **(There will be no cross over.) **She was doing research on bio chemical reactions. He focus was miniature poison canisters. We crosschecked a substance found on her fingertips and found that it matches the trace chemicals found on the devise used to kill Jason. We think we may have found who built the canister but not who made her do that. Also we checked her outgoing workloads. She was sending regular updates to a private URL account. We're looking into that right now. Just thought you should know. Bye." As the file closed Eric pulled up his local security system. This system monitored all forms of communications in and out of his home. In this case the mansion itself. After checking all the files he closed it and doubled the systems, protection. After he had done that he pulled up his RFG or his random frequency generator. After several seconds a secure link opened and he found himself looking into bio's lab. After a moment bio appeared in his screen, and spoke.

"Hey Eric did you get the file I sent you?" Eric nodded and leaned back in his chair. 'yeah. So Alice built the devise that killed Jason." It was more of a statement then a question. "well it's nice to know who killed him but who killed her? There are to many unknown bio. And you know me I don't like unknowns. For instance how did she send the reports without our security screens noticing? Check for ghost files, use the company wide scanner. I don't care if the files in china I want it found. Is that clear?" bio nodded and the screen closed. Eric had just turned to get some breakfast when a slight chill crawled up his back. Eric shrugged it off and made his way down to eat. He had just fixed himself a plate of toast and sat down when his phone went off. Eric sighed and put down the piece of toast he had been about to eat. "hello?" it was Lucy and she was hysterical, she was talking faster then Eric could understand. "Lucy calm down. What's going on?" on the other side of the line Lucy took a deep breath and spoke in a barely controlled voice. "several men just pulled fisk into their van and drove off. They had government plates, and had automatic weapons. We need help." Eric stood up. The other mutants in the room looked at him. "where are you now?" as lucy spoke Eric was quickly running from the kitchen, to the garage. "Lucy I'll be there in a second. Just hold on." With that Eric hung up and gunned the engine of his bike. Eric blasted out of the garage and down the street. After several minutes Eric pulled up next to Lucy who was shakily standing on the side of the road. Al around her people gave her questioning looks and several looks of hatred. Eric pulled Lucy onto his bike and once again shot off into the streets barely missing a ford that had turned into their way. Several minutes later Eric and Lucy pulled into the exo-gene parking lot.

eric and lucy burst through the door of bio's lab and drew looks form dozens of the scientists there. eric charged over to bio who was looking at a dozen nubers running across the screen of his computer. "fisk has been kidnapped." bio looked up and spoke. "are you sure?" eric raised an eyebrow. "you know me bio. i dont joke about this kind of stuff." bio nodded and let out a loud sigh. bio walked over to another computer and typed in a dozne comands. the split second later the diagram of the blob pooped up. bio typed in another comand and a small red dot appeared on the screen. bio tunred to them. "it looks like who ever took him has him at alkite lake. that's an old weapon X lab. we need to hurry. No telling what their doing to him." eric nodded and tapped a small button, on the wall next to them. "attention all exo-gene security forces, assemble in the debreifing hall. this is a red situation, i repeat this is a red situation." eric closed the link and looked to lucy. "lucy why dont you go and lay down you look horible." lucy shook her head. "no. i need to help fisk. he's my brother." eric sighed closed his eyes, and spoke. "you'll forgive me for this later." eric's hand blurred forward and hit lucy squarly on the jaw. lucy dropped like a stone into eric's already opened arms. bio chuckled and helped eric pull lucy over to a small bed in the corner of the room. after eric put lucy's tail on her chest he looked at bio. "if she wakes up, have your will done. cause she may just kill us both." bio nodded and both of them made their way to the debriefing room. Once there they both sat down and waited. Several minutes later 2 people walked in and joined them on was a boy. His skin was ghostly pale and his brown hair was drapped across one side of his face hiding one of his eyes. The boy was about 21 years old and had an air of knowledge about him. The other person was girl about 119 years old. She had sandy blonde hair and sat down on the table instead of in a chair. Both of her eys were a pale white color making it obvious that she was blind. Yet she had not problem finding anything. Her eyes shown with another worldly knowledge, and gave her a powerful feeling. Eric spoke first. "David, Jessie thank you for coming. As you already know fisk black has been kidnapped by weapon-x. I've called you here today to find out if we can mount an effective response force in the next 12 hours or not." With that Eric sat back down and turned to David. After several moments of thought David stood up and sighed.

"it will be hard but we could do it. Right now we have only a few droppers ready for lift off. We could get maybe 5 more fueled up every hour. But we will not be ready within the 12 hour deadline you've set us. If you want to help fisk before then you will need to gather more droppers and men. Eric nodded and pulled out his phone. After hitting speed dail #9, he waited. A moment later someone picked up and Eric spoke. "hey tony I'm calling in a favor. Well… I need."

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AN: oooohhh cliffhanger. Does anyone know who tony is? Let me know what you think.


	12. saved

"_it will be hard but we could do it. Right now we have only a few droppers ready for lift off. We could get maybe 5 more fueled up every hour. But we will not be ready within the 12 hour deadline you've set us. If you want to help fisk before then you will need to gather more droppers and men. Eric nodded and pulled out his phone. After hitting speed dail #9, he waited. A moment later someone picked up and Eric spoke. "hey tony I'm calling in a favor. Well… I need."_

CHAPTER 12

KURT'S POV

3 hours after Eric leaves

Kurt Wagner was just changing back into his house cloths after a long training exercise when he caught a snatch of conversation from kitty and spyke. "do you think it's true what Scott said? About Eric being gay?" Kurt's heart stopped cold, and his breathing caught in his chest. Scott had found out about Eric? Did he know about him and Eric? Dozens of questions flew through his mind. So many thoughts flew through his head that jean looked over at him. "Kurt are you OK?" Kurt nodded and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah I just remembered I have a science paper due." Jean nodded apologetically. "If you need to you can use my paper to help." Kurt thanked jean but did not really pay any attention to what he was saying. Thoughts still flew around his head as he left the locker rooms and made his way to Eric's room. He was somewhat startled to find Eric was not in his room. A hastily scrawled note on the desk said an emergency had sprung up with exo-gene.

Kurt sat down on the bed and began to think. He needed to tell Eric about what he had overheard but was now the time? What had happened? Sighing Kurt leaned backwards against the head rest of Eric's bed. There was a soft humming noise and suddenly a dozen screens pooped up in front of Kurt. Kurt sat bolt upright and went through one of the screens. The screen fizzled and popped as he did so but otherwise remained unchanged. After the moment of terror vanished Kurt found himself looking at the screens. There must have been a dozen of them, but they seemed to split off into more screens the longer he looked. Kurt shook his head and focused on one of the screens. 'I wish I knew how these worked.' No sooner had he thought it then a voice spoke in his head. "Simply think of what you want to see and if it's available it will appear." _I want to find Eric_. A moment later all but one of the screens vanished. The screen showed what looked like a large hanger. Inside dozens of ships sat in rows. Eric passed by them as he made his way to the only other person in the room. Eric slowed as the man turned to face him. "are you ready for this?" David nodded. "yeah. I'm ready. I'm more worried about the teams though.

Eric sighed and snapped his finger. Almost at once cargo bays doors at the far side of the room opened and sent waves of light into the room. As the light illuminated the room Kurt felt his breath catch in his throat. The room was filled with what looked like jets. But they weren't any kind of jets that he recognized. They seemed to be folded up. The engines were folded around the main body and the cockpit seemed to be compressed to only a few feet in depth. Eric sighed and snapped his fingers again. Instantly the jets began to unfold themselves. A few moments later the bay was filled with what looked like replicas of pelicans from halo. **(sorry for not being original) **Eric sighed and looked back at David. "You know I never thought I would see the day we would have to use these." David nodded. "I know what you mean. I never thought we would have to call in all of our security force to deal with something like this." Eric moved as though to leave the room. As he reached the door he looked back at David. "we only get one shot at this. Lets make it count. And I want to know who did this to him. I want a dozen AIs with yus on this mission. I want every one of weapon X's files in our database. I want to know the full horrors of what they have done." David nodded and looked out over the bay. "I'll get you those AIs. Don't worry about them. We'll get them now Eric. We'll make them pay for every mutant they've ever hurt." Eric nodded and left. David sighed and looked out over the bay. Each dropper could carry 15 soldiers plus a pilot and gunner for a total of 17. there were 139 droppers in the bay so a grand total of 2363 men and woman would be joining in this assault. Of course Eric wouldn't force people into it, they would be volunteers. He might enlist the help of section 15 but other then that no one would be forced to do this.

**KURTS POV**

Kurt watched Eric leave the bay and David standing there alone. A moment later the screens all flashed black as the connections were all lost. Slowly he got up and left Eric's room in a daze. What had happened that would cause Eric and exo-gene to take on weapon X? slowly Kurt made his way down to the dinning room. He was about to sit down when Xavier's thoughts entered his head. _X-men you're need. Exo-gene is showing an abnormal amount of activity. I need you to check it out. _Only dimly aware of what he was doing Kurt made his way to the garage and set out for exo-gene. Half an hour later they all arrive at exo-gene's main building. They had to stop at the main gate. A guard armed with an m16 walked up to them. "who are you?" he spoke in a crisp matter-of-fact tone of voice. Kurt leaned out to speak but stopped. The guard was listening to something on his ear piece. A moment later he spoke. "oh you must the x men. Eric told us you might be coming. You'll have to park in underground lot next door." Kurt nodded and after a few minutes they were walking through the front doors. The building was in a frantic of activity. Men and women in military uniforms swamped through the halls. They all seemed to have the same patch on their right shoulder. a DNA spiral with a combat knife crossing it.

They had just gotten into one of the hallways when someone called Kurt's name. Kurt turned to find sky flouting above them all with a concerned look on his face. After fighting through the crowed they found themselves in an empty room. Only then did sky speak. "did you hear what happened?" Kurt shook his head. "No. Xavier just told us to check this polace out. What's happened? I saw Eric and David unfolding jets but nothing before that." Sky sighed and sat down on a table. "About 5 hours ago fisk was kidnapped, by the government. We traced the vans back to weapon X. now Eric's getting a rescue party together do get Fisk back. He's called in favors from stark industries to get more droppers for the attack. He's also called in section 15 and they're giving us troops. We leave in about 2 hours for Fisk's location. Are you joining us?" the last question struck Kurt hard. Sky seemed to feel his hesitation. "Look you guys don't have to join. We've got almost 3000 people here ready to go." Kitty stepped forward. "No. I'll go." Spyke nodded and even jean seemed to agree. A few seconds' later rouge and Scott agreed too. Sky nodded, and smiled. "Ok Eric's in the main location chamber. Right now you need to head there and tell him you're in, after that just ready yourselves. This will be a tough fight." With that sky flouted into the air and out of the room. A few moments later they found themselves stepping into a big room. Big was an understatement, the room was huge! A walkway extended, almost 100 feet in front of them. Beyond that the wall sloped downward forming a giant sphere shaped room.

Eric stood at the end of the walk way. he turned around as they came in and smiled. "So you're in the assault." It was more of a statement then a question. Kurt nodded. Eric smiled bigger. "Thank you. If you want you can stay I want you to see something." Eric turned away from them and picked up a small helmet that was sitting on a pedestal in front of him. He turned back around to them and spoke. "With cerebro Xavier can find mutants but even he doesn't know how many are really out there. This machine amplifies my energy sense and allows me to find mutants just about anywhere in the world. Their energy feels different then humans." Eric smiled and beckoned for them to come closer. Slowly so as not to fall off they did so until they found themselves right next to Eric. Spyke looked around. "Should we hold our breaths?" Eric chuckled and closed his eyes. "No, just don't move." A split second later all the lights in the room went out. But the room did not dim. A ball of light began to collect in the center of the room. This ball pulsed like a heart and began to expand and grow with each pulse. A moment later the ball exploded. Light 'splashed everywhere, and then began to flatten out. The light bent and twisted itself into a sphere. Every particle of the light sparkled like a diamond. Glistening they formed a replica of the planted.

"these light represent every man, woman, and child on the planet. The white lights are humans." Slowly the lights began to change. Red began to 'leak' from the north poll and slowly moved its way downward until the world was bathed in red light. Here and there a particle of white would remain untouched. As the ball or light rotated itself they saw a couple of red particles were glowing with a great amount of intensity. "And these are the mutants. The brighter the lights, the stronger their powers are. The brightest lights are class 5s like me." Kurt was stunned. He had thought mutants were a rarity in the world but Eric had just proven him dead wrong. Slowly the ball of light rotated and zoomed in on one location, A mountain beside a large lake. "This is Alkite Lake **(not where logan was 'created')**. It's an old weapons X base. It's been inactive for years but it seems Fisk and several other have been taken there. The picture zoomed out and Eric took off the helmet. He swayed a little as he did so. Kitty grabbed him to prevent him from falling. "Thanks…. Doing that takes a lot of power and control. Slowly Eric crouched down to one of the lights that lined the walkway. A second later he drove his Fisk through the protective glass covering the light and began to absorb the energy flowing through the light. He straightened up a few moments later fully recharged. "all right, lets go."

The next 2 hours were a blur of activity, as everyone geared up for the assault. It was almost time to go when Adam ran up to Eric who had been inspecting a rifle. "Hey did you see there are news vans outside the gates. The guards won't let them pass, but still we're drawing a lot of attention to ourselves." Eric grinned. "Well hopefully they'll learn that we don't let anyone hurt our friends. Not even the government." Adam nodded and looked around. "I think we're all ready to go Eric." Eric nodded and stood up. A moment later he tapped a badge on his chest and spoke. "Attention all Exo-gene security, make your way to your droppers. It's time to go." A moment later they all emerged into the parking lot. Spyke's, kitty's, Kurt's, Jean's and Scott's mouths dropped. 3000 men and women, dressed in military uniforms were running pell-mell to the droppers that had been set up in the parking lot. Outside the gates they could here news reporters shouting at their camera men to get a shot of the spectacle. It was a big sight. The air hummed with powers as the dropper's pilots began to power up their ships. Eric leaned in to speak. "Head for the closest dropper, I don't want you to be seen. That way you can maybe still lead a normal life at school." A few moments later everyone was strapping themselves into the seats that lined the inside of the droppers.

It was actually very roomy inside. On both sides of the dropper, seats lined themselves. Placed near the doorway were gun racks. This rack held guns ranging from AK74 to simple pistols. Below them a closed cabinet made of grating held ammunition and grenades. Eric went to cockpit and hit the pilot on the head. Over the ship speakers everyone could hear what he was saying. "Punch it." The pilot saluted him and spoke, "Aye aye sir." A moment later the dropper shuddered as its engines roared to life and it left the ground to join the rest of the fleet. Eric tapped the pilot on the shoulder. "Is that foe hammer?" the pilot nodded and set the ship on auto pilot. "We've got about 10 minutes before we reach the drop zone, if your going to say anything now is the time to do it." Eric nodded. "Put me on a fleet wide, channel. What the news vans doing?" foe hammer checked her instruments. "They're following us. Their using omni channel scanners so they can listen in on what we're saying. Should I block them?" Eric thought for a moment. "No. let them listen. Let them hear what their government is doing to its people, in the name of progress, and their protection. Is the channel set up?" foe hammer pushed a button and nodded. In every dropper a burst of static hit their speakers then Eric's voice came through loud and clear as though he were standing in each ship. "I salute you, all of you. You answered a call that was never given. You felt the call and you answered, for that you have my thanks. You've not asked questions, you've done I've asked with out question so I think you deserve some answers. About 7 hours ago Fisk black a member of section 15, of the military was kidnapped by weapon X operatives. We have our mission. To get him back at all costs. I won't lie to you men, it looks bad. We have almost no Intel on the base he's being held at and the Intel we do have might be unreliable. I wish I could ay something that would make this easier but that's not our style. We don't want easy we want effective. We have 3 objectives. The first and biggest one if Fisk. We must find him and get him out of there. Objective #2 is weapon X's database. It contains a list of all their experiments, and bases both active and inactive. We've been granted the use of 2 A.I.s to download the database when we get close enough. Objective #3 is to find any captured mutants and bring them back with us. Your company commanders have been given 20 locator chips. Once these are attached to something that object or person, will be teleported directly to exo-gene. Hopefully we can help them, try to give them back what weapon X took. To the Fisk's teammates with us today I say be ready for hell. I don't accept failure; failure is not an option right now. I hope to see all of you when this is over and hopefully we'll have at least one more person with us that day. Until then hit hard and run fast, if we go in and hit them hard we'll be the only god damn people coming out the other side. Good luck."

Eric closed the link. Foe hammer looked up at him. "Good speech, the news vans were recording it, hopefully they'll see a person who is hell bent on getting his friend back and not a military asset. Eric sighed. "Don't hold your breath foe hammer. How long to the drop zone?" foe hammer checked her radar. "About 3 minutes. The base is hailing us." Eric nodded. "put it on screen." A moment later a plasma screen popped into existence in front of the view port. In it a bald man wearing a lab coat and lab glasses stood. "ahh Eric tooms. How wonderful to see you." Eric grimaced. "Dr. Cornelius, What an unpleasant surprise. I believe you have someone that I know in your 'care' I'd like them back." Dr. Cornelius smirked. "Well tooms is could but then were would be the fun in that. Besides I don't think you'll get passed our first line of defense you see, we have about 15 cruise missiles homed in on your fleet. I just have to give the word and they'll tear you apart." Eric grinned. "Well Cornelius I too have some tricks up my sleeves. I think you should meet my 2 newest recruits." Eric snapped his fingers. A moment later 2 holographic people popped into existence. 1 was a middle aged man wearing a revolutionary war uniform stood next to an old woman in an elegant flowing dress. Numbers and data flew across their clothes as they stood there. "Dr. Cornelius meet AI Welsly, and Alice. Welsly show him your dance moves." A moment later someone off camera on Dr. Cornelius's side shouted. "the missiles, are realigning themselves. They're targeting us." Eric grinned. "Welsly fire." The missiles instantly launched themselves from their bunkers into the enemy base. Fire and noise blossomed, from the base as gaping holes appeared in the sides. Eric tapped the fleet wide channel. "we're going in hot everyone be ready!" a moment later their dropper touched down and Eric felt the ship shudder as the men and woman behind him unloaded themselves into the base. Eric grinned and charged down the ramp into the base. The scene around him looked like something out of a movie.

All around him men and women were leaping from the droppers and charging into the base. Hundreds of security drones tried to suppress them but it was a loosing battle. Their battle plan was just too well planned, to powerful. Within moments of their landing they had destroyed almost all of the drones, and damaged ones so badly they had fallen out of the air and lay on the ground lights still spluttering. Eric charged passed the troops into the thick of the battle. Eric leapt into the air and came down hard on top of one of the drones. The drone let out an electronic squeal as it hit the ground and was crush under the force of the landing, but Eric was already moving again. Even as the drone had been falling Eric had leapt off and slammed his fist into the drone next it his. This drone had flown backward bounced off the wall and crashed to the floor. A moment later it tried to get air born again but was stopped when sky brought his foot down on top of it. Slowly methodically the remaining drones were blasted out of the air and hit the ground. Only then did the fighting stop. Slowly Eric straightened up and looked around him. The missile had done a number on the room they were now in. metal twisted into sharp points in some areas and was smooth as glass in other. The entire room was pitch black with burns and fire damage from the fight. The floor was littered with dozens of broken drones and their scattered parts.

Eric slowly made his way back to his team. Adam was in the process of assimilating drone parts into his body. The drone 'eye' he held in his hand shimmered for a moment and then seemed to melt into his skin. A second later his right eye vanished, the pale blue replaced with a angry red of the drone eye. Slowly everyone made their way from the room and into the hallway beyond. The hallway was completely empty. Not one drone or person opposed them as they silently made their way through the hallway, to the heavy metal door on the other side. As they approached the door Eric could feel the pricks of energy behind it, the subtle vibrations of noises hitting the wall, the sounds of magazines being slid into their guns, and men and woman whispering orders to each other. He signaled for the team to stop. Slowly the team stopped about 15 feet from the door. Eric pulled out a small flash grenade. This grenade was special though. It had a hardened shell on the outside. With it he could throw it through the wall and it would still work, which is exactly what he did. There was a flash of light through the hole and then a loud 'bang' followed by a string of swear words. The team burst through the doors. Almost an entire troop met their gaze. Most of them were on the ground trying to through off the effects of the flash grenade. The few that were still standing had dropped their weapons and now had their hands clamped tightly over their ears trying to shut out the pounding noises that was actually their ear drums being bruised. Long story short they were in no condition to fight. Behind him someone waved their hand, all the weapons on the ground were pulled from their spots and flew up into the air out of the reach of the stunned troops. After they had been taken care of Eric turned to his teams. "Alright we have our orders. We know what has to be done, so let's do it." The team split up, 20 people to find the main data base, 20 to find any other prisoners, and 60 others to find fisk and free him. The rest of the troops stayed behind to monitor their progress and provide reinforcements in they were needed. Within minutes AIs welsly and Alice were in the bases internal network copying files and working to get their hands on anything that could be useful.

As the teams made their ways deeper into the base they met little resistance. Every now and then a security force would try to stop them but they offered no real resistance. The door in front of them opened as Eric and is team moved into the room. The room was a large cargo hanger, catwalks hung from the ceilings like a dozen spider webs. Around the bay a dozen or so vehicles stood waiting to be used. But they had no time to look around further, as a dozen robotic soldiers popped up and began to shoot at them. In the blink of an eye the entire team was shielded by a magnetic field Eric called up. A moment later the field was pushed forward and hit the far wall causing deep cracks to appear in it. Eric took cover behind a truck and was joined a second later by sky, who wore light green military fatigues. Eric grinned and spoke. "hey sky. This is their truck right?" sky nodded, and Eric grinned even wider. "then let's give it to them." Sky grinned as he realized what Eric meant. Eric grabbed one side of the truck and sky grabbed the other. The sound of stressed metal met everyone's ears and a moment later the truck was sailing through the air and to the robot guards. The room shook violently and a moment later all shooting stopped as the bots were crushed between the wall and the truck. Still grinning Eric and sky began to assist the others with the remaining guards.

Once the room was cleared they moved on. At the next door they stopped. Eric could feel it. The energy in the next room, there was just so much of it. He could feel it slithering through the walls, and floor. Making its way to its destination where it would be used and lost. Eric was silent for a moment and then spoke. "give me a sit rep guys." A moment later his com signal spoke back. "green group, has the green light, he had prisoners being freed and we're just getting a translocator lock on them, Over." A second later it spoke again. "blue group has the green light. He have found that data base and are downloading it now." Eric sighed, at least everyone was ok. They moved forward and into the room. It was huge, about the size of a football field. On the far side a sing green glass tank sat. green liquid swirled inside it and inside the liquid was fisk. He wore an oxygen mask to keep him alive but other than that all he had on was a set of military swimming shorts. They were about to move forward when dozens of auto turrets engaged themselves and began to fire at them. Bullets pounded all around them as everyone was forced to take cover. Eric dove behind a consol and was quickly joined by gambit. Gambit rolled his eyes and pointed t the nearest turret. Eric nodded and they both burst from their cover. 12 cards, and a stream of lightning met the turret head on. The turret gave a grown of protest and died sinking to the floor a twisted pile of slag.

Methodically they destroyed the turrets, until none were left in room. Slowly, cautiously they began to make their way across the room. he was about half way across when he heard a definite metallic click. He tried to duck and roll but it was too late. Were it not for the absorption field that kicked in he knew the shot gun round that hit him would have killed him. As it was it threw him to the ground and knocked the wind out of him. He could hear laughter as who ever had shot him reloaded and took aim. But this time he was ready. He managed to throw himself out of the way as the second round tore the space he had been apart. As he slid across the floor he looked around for the source of the shots being fired at him. He found out in a moment. A man wearing a completely grey lab coat had been crouching down by one of the consuls and had been waiting for him. Even now as he slid across the floor the man straightened up and eric found himself looking into the eyes of Dr. Cornelius. His face was hard lined with age and his features were twisted in anger.

"you! You've ruined everything. All my work, and you've ruined it. This is why weapon X was created. So freaks like you could never do any harm to society." Eric sighed and threw himself up into standing. "Check your records Dr. Cornelius. Weapon X was shut down 13 years ago. You're off the grid doing illegal experiments. You've broken the law and now you're going to pay for it." Dr. Cornelius shook his head and pulled the trigger again. Eric didn't need to dodge this round it hit his absorption field and a moment later he felt the rush as the energy was added to his body. He took a step forward, but Dr. Cornelius, continued to talk. "shut down? No never shut down. They did this. The mutants they forced my people to quit but I knew the truth. They were in their heads, screaming, begging. Pleading for me to continue until all the mutants were dead and they were finally free." Eric took another step forward. "No. they shut you down because what you were doing was illegal. You forced your views onto other and then made them killing machines. You played god, with human lives, both mutant and human. Give it up, you failed. We're still here."

Dr. Cornelius looked up a look of pure rage plastered on his face. He brought the shot gun up and pulled the trigger. But Eric was already gone from the spot. In the blink of an eye Eric was in front of him and brought his elbow down hard on the barrel of the gun. There was the horrible sound of twisted metal as the barrel bent and finally shattered. Dr. Cornelius leapt back as though he had been burned and continued to speak. "Killing me here won't stop weapon X. I recently got a new soldier, and he will finish what I've started." Eric snorted and advanced on the doctor. "yeah I know. You kidnapped a mutant with a level 4 physical mutation. I know him he's one of my best friends. Trust me he wont do anything for you. Fisk black is an exo-gene mutant through and through. Now if there is nothing else you are under arrest." Eric threw out his hand and placed a small coin sized object on Dr. Cornelius's sleeve. He tapped his com link and spoke. "bio I'm sending you Dr. Cornelius. Be sure to have him well guarded. I don't want him getting away." A moment later he grinned and pushed a small button on his wrist band. Dr. Cornelius glowed and then vanished into thin air.

Eric turned from where Dr. Cornelius had been to the tank that held Fisk. Slowly he approached it making absolutely sure there were no traps that would hurt him, his team, or Fisk. After checking Eric made his way to a consol in front of the tank. Eric jerked his head and a moment later Adam was by his side. "all his vital signs check out. Brain function is normal, heart beat is natural. It just looks like he is in a deep chemical induced sleep. We should be able to move him and not worry about hurting him in any way shape or form." Adam looked up from the consol and glanced at Eric. Eric nodded tapped his throat mike and spoke. "Bio, we've located fisk and are getting ready to send him to you. He seems fine but have our medics take a deep look at him. I want to know if there is any difference between the Fisk that worked for us and this one." A moment later his mike spoke back. "Alright give us 30 seconds to get ready." "Don't worry it'll take at least a minute to get him."

Eric closed the mike link and walked right up to the front of the tank. Drawing his fist back Eric let loose a punch with the force of a train behind it. The glass cylinder shuddered and cracked but did not break. Eric rolled his eyes and punches the glass again. More crakes began to appear but still it did not break. He was about to hit it again when gambit put his hand on his shoulder. "Let me try." Gambit drew out a simple playing card and threw it at the tank. A blinding flash of light followed almost at once by a defining explosion shook the room. The glass shuddered and finally broke. No longer supported by the dense water inside, Fisk simply drained out with the water. Eric caught fisk as he slid passed him and laid him down on the floor. A fast check over and Eric found fisk to be in fine apparel health. Eric put a trancer on fisk and a moment later fisk vanished into the air.

As Eric straightened up his mike crackled to life. It was welsly. 'Eric I'm sorry. I didn't see it before. They've rigged the base to self-destruct you have about 6 minutes. I'll stall it as long as I can but I don't know if it will work. Sorry." Eric wheeled around to find his team looking at him wide eyed. "what are waiting for?! GET GOING!!" back down the hall way and through a dozen different rooms. "Foehammer we need extraction on the double. Get the droppers and be ready to get us out of here." "yes sir." As they ran they were joined by dozens of other exo-gene members. They stampeded down the hallways and back into the room they had first landed. The droppers hovered about 3 feet away from the building. As the front most people reached the droppers they moved into action. One dropper would hover and fill up on soldiers. As they reached their full, they would fly away and another dropper would take the last one's place. Once every dropper was full they wheeled away from the base and blasted away as fast as they could. Behind them the base exploded into millions of pieces of concrete and metal shards. Eric smiled and they moved away from the base. They had done it. They had found Fisk, rescued him and saved untold lives.

HLAF AN HOUR LATER

With the mission done they had flown back at a leisurely pace. Not the neck breakingly fast pace they had gone before but a slow and steady pace. Foehammer tapped her mike and spoke to Eric. "we're coming up on exo-gene but I'm not ready any power out put levels. The building is running on back up power. Should I stay around, or land?" Eric moved to the cock pit so he could see the building. The windows were jet black, and it was obvious that the power had gone out. Eric sat down at a consol and rapidly punched in a string of commands. By then scott, and kurt had moved behind him and were watching. "it looked like it's a local cut. Power is running from the cables to the building but something is blocking the power from being used. Foehammer drop us off on the main building's roof. And stand by we may need to dust off real fast." Foehammer nodded and moved the fleet closer to the mail building. Eric tapped his throat mike and spoke through a fleet wide channel. "Power is out to exo-gene and computers show it is a local tap. If you're injured don't help us just find a medical station and patch yourself up. I don't want any heroics today. Eric out."


	13. genisis armor

_Eric sat down at a consol and rapidly punched in a string of commands. By then scott, and kurt had moved behind him and were watching. "it looked like it's a local cut. Power is running from the cables to the building but something is blocking the power from being used. Foehammer drop us off on the main building's roof. And standby we may need to dust off real fast." Foehammer nodded and moved the fleet closer to the mail building. Eric tapped his throat mike and spoke through a fleet wide channel. "Power is out to exo-gene and computers show it is a local tap. If you're injured don't help us just find a medical station and patch yourself up. I don't want any heroics today. Eric out."_

CHAPTER 13

As the droppers touched down on the roof, once again they unloaded the troops they carried. Once on the roof everyone moved like they knew what the others were thinking. As one group they moved down the stairs and covered the first few floors. As they 'captured' the 25th floor, bio turned to Eric. "No lightning here Eric. These floors have the main central hub for our computers. One stray spark and we lose 14 years of work." Eric rolled his eyes as he made his way forward. The main building was 30 stories tall; the floors spiraled around the inside of the walls. The central part was hallowed so if someone looked over the edge of the floor they could see down to the ground floor. Eric turned to a group who had clustered themselves around the stair way door. Eric nodded to the leader of the group. The leader a tall mutant called, Alex Smith, nodded back and moved in front of the door.

A moment later Alex smashed his foot through the door, sending the door flying across the stair well and breaking into a dozen pieces on the far side wall. A moment later the squad stormed the stairwell. As they neared the next floor Eric stopped and focused on the building's magnetic field. It was almost normal; a dozen extra fields were interfering with the building's natural feel. Eric motioned for everyone to stop and they did, Coming to a halt just next to the door to the next floor. Eric tapped his mike 3 time witch turned him into Vicky the exo-gene main AI.. "Vicky how many outside mutants are there in the building?" a moment later a cool electronic voice sounded into his ear. "57 external mutants are in the facility. All of them are class 3 to class 4. They currently hold floors, 15 through 1. With at least 3 mutants on each floor." Eric tapped his mike again. "Block all exits and begin file encryption sequence. Notify me if they leave any of the floors or move in any way that might give them a tactical advantage."

Eric touched Alex's shoulder and filled him in on what vicky had told him. Alex let out a grunt of frustration and pulled out a second pistol. Unlike the pistol in his left hand this one had an elongated barrel for greater accuracy. Eric rolled his eyes, and peered over the edge of the railing. A moment later he pulled his head back as a dozen bullets, whizzed through the air where his heads had been a moment before. The group seemed to react as one being. They threw themselves against the wall, and each took turned returning fire, at the shooters. Eric and Alex took their turn at the same time. Alex spun around and fired both of his pistols at once. A 7 shooters each of them packing semi auto to full auto weapons. One of them on the far left held a tactical shotgun but Alex dismissed him as a minimal threat. The gap between them and the shooters was 78 feet and some inches. If any of the shotgun rounds hit them it would be luck and not skill. As one of the shooters looked over the wall Alex pulled the trigger and watched as the bullets, spat from his guns and hit the gun in the shooter's hand.

The shooter let out a loud shout of "fuck!" and dive back down out of sight of Alex's guns. Alex ducked again and tapped his mike and pulled up Eric's com channel. "Eric, what do you want us to do? We've been shooting to disarm but sooner or later their going to use bigger guns. Should we shoot to kill or wound?" Eric who had been returning fire over the railing tapped his mike, and responded, a moment later. "Shoot to wound. Kill only if you have to." Alex nodded and popped up above the wall to return fire. His attempt was met with 3 shooters, all of whom turned to him and fired. Time seemed to slow as massive amounts of adrenaline, entered his blood stream. He could literally see the bullets leaving the gun barrels. Alex grinned as he changed where he was shooting. A moment later he pulled both triggers, at the same time.

Twin bullets flew from his guns and flew through the air. A moment later 2 shower of sparks in mid air as the bullets he had fired met the bullets from another intruder's gun. Alex grinned as the intruders pause for a fraction of a second trying to figure out what had caused the sparks. With that momentary lapse, Alex switched to implosion rounds and fired again. 4 bullets flew from his guns and hit the wall the intruders had been hiding behind. As the bullets hit the hardened concrete they reacted. As the bullets, hit the wall the chemicals in the hallowed out casings mixed as the small glass shield separating them broke. Even as this happened the momentum forced each round about 2 inches into the concrete, it may not have been much but it was all that was needed. A split second later, the concrete contracted and then exploded outwards.

With their position exposed the intruders began to fall back out of the range of the security force's guns. With new orders dozens of the security force member advanced on the intruder's position. Some simply leapt the gap, other teleported and some even flew to the other side. Alex felt Eric grab him and a moment later they were both flying through the air to the other side of the building. As they landed Alex pushed off of Eric rolled and came up with his guns cocked and ready. He took in the whole scene in less than a second. 6 intruders, were retreating, with 3 others covering the retreat. Alec let loose and shot at the 3 suppressors. 2 of them flew face forward as their kneecaps were blown apart. A moment later they burst into a puff of smoke. Then it became clear. They had been 'spin offs' of a multiple mutant. Quickly Alex relayed this information to the others, who let loose a volley of rounds that sent dozens of 'spin offs' disappearing into oblivion. As they moved forward they met other teams who had split off from the main group.

Eric looked around as they passed bio's main lab. After a moment of thought, he motion for everyone to stop and a moment later they fanned into the lab. The first thing that hit them was how many bodies lay strewed around the floor and several people were half laying on the tables they had been at. Slowly Eric knelt down next to a random scientist and felt for a pulse. It was there but weak, almost like they had the energy suck out of them in a nonlethal way. Slowly Eric moved through the lab till he found who he was looking for. Bio lay slumped against the main computer, every now and then he would let out a long, loud snore. Eric raised an eyebrow and put his hand on bio's shoulder. Eric closed his eyes, and began to pour energy back into bio. He had to be careful. If he gave bio to much energy at once he risked killing bio. After several tense moments bio stirred and then sat bolt upright in a flurry of motion and random shouts. Bio looked around, and then sighed. "Alright someone want to tell me what's going on?" Eric raised an eyebrow.

"we were hoping you could tell us. We came back and found the power cut and everyone knocked out. Not only that, but there are over 50 intruders, in the building. We don't even know about the other buildings yet." Bio shook his head and turned to the computer, and began to rapidly punch in commands. Several moments later a string of binary code, began to flow over the screen. As this happened bio continued to talk. "Last thing the computer logged was………. Putting Fisk on minor life support. He's fine." This last bit was in response to Eric's look of concern. "We put him on life support so we wouldn't risk, him being injured worse than already." A few more punches on the keys and the binary stopped. A section of code became highlighted, and bio swore. "damn! Another god damn fucking ghost code! It's on a timer. Looks like it turned itself on about…… 30 minutes ago. It sent a concentrated series of codes, to the power junction actuators. That caused a series of cascading failures, which forced the power outages."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "if the ghost code was on a timer maybe there is a sender code inside of it. Who knew the program that told it to turn on? See if you can trace that, meanwhile we'll keep clearing out the building." Bio nodded and went back to the computer. As they left bio's lab they heard the sound of an electrical field, covering bio and the lab entrances. Eric chuckled as he and the others left. It was just like bio to be careful. Slowly Eric and all the others made their ways to the lower levels of the building. By then the automated defense systems had kick in and were fighting the intruders, on their own. The team slowly made their way past dozens of individual firefights. They had just entered the main section of building when a pulse of energy hit Eric like a rocket. In fact less than a moment later a rocket screamed through the air and hit the section of wall behind him.

Slowly Eric and the team made their way around the building, fighting when necessary. As they made their way onto the ground floor Eric stopped. He was just trying to figure out what was making a strange energy field pulsing when he was thrown to the side. The main floor was thrown up from under them. A massive combat suit was pulling itself up from under the floor from the basement. The suit was huge maybe 3X the size of a normal man. The skin of the suit was an eerie silvery color. as the suit continued to pull itself out from the basement the squad open fired on it. Thousands of rounds hit the suit and simply shattered as they hit the metal skin. Slowly menacingly the suit turned and looked directly at Eric. "Not bad Eric but this suit is superior to you in every way. You paid for it and it will be your death." By then the suit had pulled itself completely out of the basement. Smoke furled out from under the boots and a second later the suit took off flying up the central space of the building and out through the massive skylight sending thousands of shards of glass showering downwards.

Eric let out a roar of rage, as he leapt upwards and followed the suit. Eric shot upwards, as sent out a small pulse shock as he flew passed the glass shards. In the blink of an eye the glass shards vaporized. In less than a heart beat Eric was out of the building and in hot pursuit of the suit. For the next half an hour Eric weaved in and out of buildings in an attempt to pursue the suit. Finally he lost the suit around the mountains. With an air of anger surrounding him Eric made his way back to the exo-gene building and landed back in the center of the wrecked main lobby. As he landed bio moved up behind him and began to speak. "well it looks like we have a BIG problem. That suit that was stolen it was the genesis armor. It's the most powerful weapon on the planet." Eric sighed and turned to him. "no, you think! How the fuck did it get stolen?! I want tracking on it 24/7 I want to know when and where it stops. And most of all I want a battle plan, I need a way of taking this thing out." Bio was about to speak but Eric cut him off. And I don't want to hear that it can't be beaten!" bio turned to speak but Eric cut him off again. "don't. just don't bio. Get it done."

Bio rolled his eyes and moved away from Eric. He had work to do and knowing Eric he would want to know everything possible about the suit. The next few hours were a blur of work and activity as those personal hurt were taken to the hospital and the specialists that had built the genesis armor were gathered and briefed on the situation. With that in mind they came up with a plan. The suit only had a 15 hour power supply they had tracers in the suit so they would be able to follow it's movements. Based on that they could calculate where it was when it lost power and then they could sent Eric and an elite team to re-capture it. Be that as it may the plan was still risky. There was no telling who had the suit or even if they knew how to fully use it. No there were too many questions and unknowns but that is what exo-gene did best. Beating odds.

Eric tooms could not help but slam his bedroom door. He had just laid down on his bed when his door flew open and w furious Xavier rolled into his room. "What have you done? Do you know how many people have seen you?!" Eric rolled his eyes and threw the book he had been trying to read. The book flew across the room and embedded itself in the wall, next to Xavier. Eric stood up and began to pace in front of Xavier. after a moment he looked up and made a jerking motion with his hand. The wall behind him exploded away from its posts and reviled several other students who must have had their ears pushed against the wall listening to them. Eric rolled his eyes and spoke. "if you want to be an adult you have to go to the meetings. No listen to me Xavier, I personally don't give a rip what you think or have to say. The world knows of our existence but you still hide this schools true purpose. How do you think people will react? Sure some of them will be scared or angry but with what you've been doing you could point out they haven't endangered anyone."

Eric paused, took a deep breath and continued on his rant. "but you didn't think about that did you? No all you could think about is 'protecting' your students. Tell me Xavier don't you think you might be sheltering them a little much. When a problem presents itself half the time your students go to you for help or advice. They rely on you to fix or tell them how to fix their problems. No that is not a bad thing……. Yet. But tell me what happens when you're not around anymore? You've taught them to control their gifts but not how to deal with their problems. Not only that but some of these problems they can't come to you with." Xavier shook his head and interrupted Eric. "my students can come to me with any problem big or small personal or not and I will help them as best I can."

Eric shook his head and let out a snort of laughter. "I used to be like you Xavier. I used to think I could help all mutants no matter what their problems were. But guess what happened? I was on a retriever's mission in Italy. But the boy just didn't get that he was special, no matter what I did. So I thought maybe if I showed him what he was capable of doing. See his powers let him warm the space and time around him. So I decided I put him in a difficult situation. Oh nothing to big, I decided I'd put him in a series of situation that he could get out of if he used his powers. Guess what? He got so mad at me he did the one thing he thought would make me leave him alone forever. He destroyed his very existence, just snuffed it out like you would a candle light. As that moment I learned that even though I could help all mutants, I had to let them choose to be helped."

Eric paused and looked out the window at the setting sun. "to this day I regret doing what I did. To this day all retrievers have a rule they follow above all else. Unless it will help the mutant if they say 'no' then the retrievers will continue to try to help them. But once one of them says 'no' the retrievers leave them alone." Eric opened his mouth and was about to speak when his cell phone went off. Eric jerked it out of his phone and put it to his ear. After several seconds his eyes widened and he spoke. "Seriously David?! Are you fucking serious?! Oh well this just keeps getting better and better. Yeah fine I'll see you in a while." Eric turned and looked at Xavier. "I'll leave you with this Xavier, alone is afraid if he come to you with his problem you'll hate him. So think about that."

Eric turned to leave but Xavier spoke before Eric could leave the room. "if you walk out that room then you will have to find a new place to stay. I don't want someone like you in this house."

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A:N) hope you liked this chapter. Sorry for the long wait.


	14. the union of simple souls

_Eric turned to leave but Xavier spoke before Eric could leave the room. "if you walk out that room then you will have to find a new place to stay. I don't want someone like you in this house."_

CHAPTER 14

Eric sighed and slowly turned around so he was facing Xavier. "so it finally comes out. I don't agree with you so you throw me out. Wish I could say I was surprised but I'm not. Very well Xavier. I won't come back." With that Eric left the room got on his bike and speed off into the distance. For a long moment no one said anything then a voice from above spoke. "Thanks a lot Xavier no we have to deal with him." Everyone looked up to find acell sitting on a bookshelf looking down at them. Sighed acell leapt down from the bookshelf and became a blur around the room. Clothing flew out of the dressed and packed themselves into suitcases that had appeared out of nowhere.

After several second everything in the room that had been Eric's was packed away. Acell smiled at Kurt and then picked up the suit cases. In the blink of an eye he was gone. A heart beat later he was back the suit cases were gone. Acell smiled to Kurt again and then turned to leave but Kurt put his hand on his shoulder. He was shaking from head to toe and was terrified of what the others would think when he said what he was going to do. "acell I know you don't like doing personal favors but…………… would you pack my things as well and take them to where ever you took Eric's stuff?" acell smiled and then nodded. "Yeah. So I take it you're not going to hide anymore?' Kurt nodded and turned to the others, who looked stunned. Evan Xavier looked shocked at what he had asked. "guys………… well." Kurt sighed and then just spoke his mind. "shit well I'm gay and I love Eric so deal." With that Kurt left with acell and helped pack.

ERIC'S POV

Eric pulled into the parking lot for exo-gene. David had called him and said they had located the genesis armor. But as he pulled into the lot he found no cars in the lot, no guards in the security booths and no response when he called David's phone. He had just gotten of his bike when the ground shook and broke apart behind him. Eric whipped around only to receive a full force punch to the chest. The punch sent him flying the length of the lot and crashing into the building on the far side, through the glass windows before coming to a rest just inside the main lobby. Coughing trying to heal himself from a punch that should have killed even him Eric stood up and was forced to grab the front desk to steady himself. He had just managed to look up in time to throw himself to the left, as another punch obliterated the front desk he had been leaning on a moment ago. Eric could only vaguely see a blur picture of what he was facing. The first punch had really messed up his vision. Once again he was forced to dodge an attack at the last moment or risk being obliterated. Shaking his head he tried desperately to clear his vision.

A moment later he felt himself being grabbed and lifted off the ground. Next a crushing force began to close around him, crushing the life out of him. A moment later a voice filter with electronic scramblers spoke. **(think the iron monger's voice from iron man)** "Well well, well, look what has happened to you Eric. You were on top of the world and now you're about to be killed with your own creation. So what do you think about that?" Eric gasped as his chest was crushed even more. Only an act of desperation saved him. Eric send out massive waves of kinetic energy outwards from his body. The effect was his release and his attacker being thrown 60 feet up wards before gravity took over and began to pull the suit back down. But whoever was in the suit had other plans. Even before the suit hit the ground it twisted so it was standing straight up. A moment later the front of the suit opened and Eric found himself staring at the blurring outline of his brother Daniel.

Eric's head swam as he stood there. How had this happened how had Daniel his own brother gotten hold of the genesis armor, and more importantly why was he attacking Eric with it? Eric tried to speak but found he was unable to; all he could do was stand there like an idiot with his jaw hanging open. Daniel took advantage of that and attacked. Using the integrated targeting system in the suit he locked on to Eric and sent half a dozen cluster missiles at Eric. Eric just barely managed to dodge the first 2 missiles and destroy the last 6 headed straight for him. Only then did he find his voice. "Daniel……………. Why?" Daniel laughed, he laughed right then and there. Just floated there in mid air and laughed. "Why? **WHY!**!!? BECAUSE YOU'RE A GOD DAMN FREAK YOU LITTLE FAGOT!! YOU AND YOUR KIND NEED TO BE WHIPED FROM THE EARTH NOW DIE!!" a dozen more missiles flew at Eric who by now had regained his ability to think. With a flick of his wrist the missiles exploded as they left the suit.

Eric just stood there. How could this have happened? "So it was you on the phone not David?" Daniel chuckled. "Duh. I also broke in and stole the suit I'm also responsible for the death of Alice on ios. She had used up her usefulness, and she was a loose end. So I disposed of her. JUST LIKE I'LL DO WITH YOU!" instead of missiles Daniel tried another punch at Eric. Using the suit's jets he launched forward and tried to hit Eric with a bone liquefying punch. Eric rolled out of the way and 'tapped' the underside of the suit. Daniel flew upwards into the ceiling and up several floors, before finally stopping somewhere on the 23rd floor. Eric used this time to try and escape the building he was not able to use all of his power when he was in the building. He had just made back to his bike and was in the process of trying to start it when Daniel burst from the building, and landed in the lot. Daniel grabbed the front of Eric's bike and picked it up throwing Eric clean off it and several feet away. Eric had only just regained his ability to tell up from down when Daniel brought the bike down right where he lay. Rolling to the left Eric narrowly avoided being crushed by his only memory of john. Sadly for the bike it did not fare so well. The bike shattered like glass when it hit the concrete ground. Tears welled up in Eric's eyes as the bike broke and he lost the last memory of john.

Eric was angry now not only had he been attacked by his brother but he had lost his bike johns last gift to him. Eric let out a roar of rage and charged Daniel dodging pin laser shots, and ducking a punch as he moved in right in front of Daniel. The blow hit Daniel like a truck, sending him reeling backwards into the ground. He barely had enough time to re engage his chest plate before her hit the ground. In a flash Eric was on top of him beating with all of his might on the adimanthium lined armor of the suit. Inside the suit Daniel grinned. There was no way Eric could break this suit it was built to kill him. Daniel swatted at Eric like he would a fly. The attack connected and sent Eric flying through the air and across the lot to the far side.

Standing back up Eric managed to dodge Daniel who had lunged at him and now crashed into the steel frame of the building behind him. This was bad he was fighting a losing battle he knew he had no chance of beating Daniel alone. but he had no way of getting them there. His cell phone had been in one of his bike's side pockets and he could not send a mental cry to them from this distance. So he did the last thing he could. He sent out a massive bolt of lightning into the sky and prayed that someone would see and help him. For several seconds he stood there hoping and praying for a miracle. He was only broken out of his hope by the sound of Daniel throwing rubble at him.

Eric dodged most of the piece and blasted apart the one could wasn't fast enough to avoid. He was getting tired and low on energy. He could not keep this up for much longer without repowering. Daniel had picked himself up now and held several section of the building with the suits help and threw them. Out of anger Eric blasted each piece before it had a chance to leave the suit's grip. "Daniel how could you do this?! I trusted you, I thought you were different. Why?!" once again Daniel's cold laughter rang through the lot. "Why!? Cause you're a freak. You and everyone like you. When I'm done killing you I'll move on to sky and then Adam oh but first I'll kill your precious Kurt. Maybe I'll keep you alive long enough to see me kill him." Anger welled up, deep in Eric's chest. No one hurt Kurt. NO ONE! Daniel's laughter was cut off as bolts of lightning numbering in the thousands flew at him. He had no time to dodge them and found himself driven backwards father into the building as each bolt hit him. Daniel grunted as one of the bolts hit his leg and forced him onto one knee. He just looked up to find his electronic view full of Eric as he flew towards him. A moment later he was thrown through several support beams and then came to rest against one of the beams. A moment later he felt his helmet jerked upwards, as Eric pulled his face level with his own. His face screen became full of Eric's face, a moment later Eric punched the helmet cracking the video screen. Then his face came closer and Eric spoke. "I should show restrain because you're my brother but I don't really feel in a forgiving mood today. So I'm going to hurt you and then I'm going to turn you over to the exo-gene authorities. My guess they'll have a trail find you guilty and then…. Well that's up to the jury. But it won't be good."

He expected fear he expected begging. So when Daniel began to laugh again it only served to anger and confuses Eric. A moment later he found out why. It was a small feeling at first. A simple electric pulse on the back of his neck. Eric leapt backwards and did a flip straight up narrowly avoiding the cruise missile that had been flying straight for his back. A moment later Eric was thrown from the building, as fire blossomed from the point of impact. Eric hit the ground and gouged a 15 feet gouge in the concrete as he slid from the force of the blast. For a moment he just lay there, on his back, looking up at the blue sky. It truly was beautiful it was calm, and simple. His thoughts were interrupted as another cruise missile headed straight for him. A simple stern glare and the missile exploded in mid flight. Slowly Eric got to his feet. He knew he was hurt, badly. He could feel several broken bones and he was almost out of energy.

Slowly painfully Eric limped towards the exit of the lot. He had just set foot outside when a noise hit his ears. Cringing Eric turned and found the source of the noise. Daniel had pulled himself free of the ruble and now held a huge section of the building in his hands. The chunk in question was about the side of a city bus and must have weighed about 4 tons. A moment later Daniel hurled the piece of building at Eric with all the strength the suit could manage. The chunk hit Eric full force and sent him not only flying into the streets but into the building on the other side of the street and through half a dozen walls.

It took most of Eric's strength to push the chunk off of him. He had been right the chunk weighed 4 tons. Even as he pushed the piece off of him he felt several ribs had broken and were now sticking at awkward angles inside of his body. And while he didn't have to worry about cutting any internal organs the broken bones would limit his range of motion and the pain would limit his focus. Eric whimpered as he moved. His insides felt like they were on fire. Even as he moved he could feel bones grinding against each other. His brief moment of pain was washed out a moment later by a stream of adrenalin rushed through his body, and not a moment too soon. He had only just managed to push the chunk off of himself when Daniel was on him pinning him to the ground with the suit massive hands. The pressure on his chest was incredible. He knew if he had internal organs he would be dead, as it was he was beginning to get black spots in his vision which indicated brain trauma. His vision was fading and fast, his body felt cold and his 'heart' was almost out of energy. He thought he heard someone say something far off in the distance. A last sneer at him by his brother no doubt. A moment later the pressure vanished as Daniel was thrown off of him.

Eric rolled to the left only to narrowly avoid what he thought would be a killing blow, only to find that no blow came but a voice from somewhere away from him. "You will not harm Eric. Not now not ever." Blinking furiously Eric's vision cleared and he found sky had pushed Daniel off of him and was now pinning him to the wall. A moment later electronic numbers began to wound their way around the suit as Adam's power began to take effect. A moment later Daniel broke free of sky's grip and push sky off of him, soon after the number's vanished and Daniel surged forward swinging madly trying to hit Eric. But Eric was no longer where he had been. He now was in a crouched position holding the chunk of building he had been hit with earlier.

With all his strength Eric threw the chunk as hard as he could at Daniel. The piece flew through the air and hit Daniel sending him back out into the street. Slowly Eric pulled himself to his feet. "Sky Adam, you guys saw my call for help?" sky who was floating next to him shook his head. "no. Eric this is on the news. The 2 cruise missiles set off the military; they'll be here in 15 minutes. So if we want to keep the suit we need to beat Daniel fast. Can you think of anything that might help us beat it?" Eric sighed and shook his head, trying to clear the small ringing that had started in his ears. "no as far as I know this suit is the ultimate weapon on the planet. It was built to kill me if I ever turned against my friends. As far as I know I can't beat it."

By then Adam had come over and was configuring parts of electronics from the wreckage. "Not true. Daniel didn't engage the safety locks. While we can't puncture the suit we can overload it or shut it down. It also doesn't have its battery at full capability. He has only 15 or 20 more minutes of power. We just have to wait him out." Eric shook his head. "no if I know Daniel he's reconfigured the suit to run of his own energy. So long as we keep hitting him he'll just keep absorbing it. No we have to keep him from getting more power to his suit." Sky shrugged and looked to Adam who shrugged back. "well if that's all we've go-" Adam was cut off as Daniel tore back through the hole he had torn through the wall a few moments ago.

"oh great your all hear. Now I don't have to track you all down to kill you. NOW DIE!!" Daniel sent dozens of small missiles at them. Eric by now who was slightly annoyed sent a bolt of lightning through the center of the cluster. Dozens of missiles exploded in mid air and dozens more due to the shock waves. "Ok. Sky you and me will try to keep him occupied. Adam, you try to hack your way back into the suit and shut it down from the inside." No sooner had Eric said this then the wall behind them was ripped apart and Daniel in his suit came through.

"now I'm really mad." Eric and sky lunged forward and hit Daniel in the chest. Daniel Eric and sky both flew from where they had been and flew upwards about 45 feet hit the opposite building's wall and slid down to the ground. Daniel swung around and tried to grab sky but was blocked when Eric grabbed his wrists and flung his body so Daniel was pinned against the wall. A moment later numbers spun across the suit as Adam began to 'enter' the suit and shut it down. For several moments, Eric fought with all his strength to keep Daniel from breaking free. The he felt Adam begin to succeed in his job. Slowly Daniel began to lose power as the suit began to lose its main connection to him. Slowly Eric let go of the suit and even slower stepped away from Daniel. Slowly Adam stepped out from behind the suit and looked from Eric to the suit, which now stood powerless.

Slowly sky moved so he was next to Eric, a few moments ticked by as none of them spoke. Adam broke the silence. "Well Eric your luck we were here. I have no doubt that you could have beaten him but it would have cost the tax payer a lot more money." Eric smiled and playfully punched sky in the shoulder. They had just turned and had begun to walk away when a loud screeching noise ripped through the now calm air. Eric whipped around and only had enough time to throw himself at sky so as not to let him be hit by the lead pipe Daniel was trying to stab him with. Eric let out a loud cry of agony as the pipe speared through his chest and hit his heart. A blinding flash of light burst from his chest and a ray of power came out of the pipe and hit Daniel squarely in the chest. Daniel flew upwards and began to glow a bright blue color as the suit's main energy core breached itself.

Eric's world seemed to slow down as he realized the situation. The suit's core had breached, that meant all the power and energy in the suit would go off in one huge blast. From what he had learned from fighting the suit it probably ran off a nuclear of arch reactor. If either of those options were, the case the explosion would take out most of the city and cause massive damage due to the radiation and the fallout. His decision was made for him in a heartbeat. Even if he got the explosion away from the city, it would destroy a large section of the eco-system. That meant he only had one thing to do. He had to get it from earth. Eric pushed off from the ground and hit Daniel. Placing both hands against Daniel's suits chest, and pushed off with all his might which all things considered was not nearly as much as he would have liked. He was flying now flying faster than he had ever flown in his life. Clouds, birds and planes flew passed him as he continued his way upwards into space. A moment later, he felt his body become in tune with the suit's core. Although it was not enough to stop the suit from exploding, it was enough to keep him flying and minimize the risk of premature explosions.

Eric put all he had into keeping himself flying. He was tired, every muscle in his body screamed at him to stop and rest. His vision was blurring probably the result of some minor brain damage. Even as he held the 4-ton suit above his head, he could feel his arms shaking with the strain of keeping the suit up. He was close to his goal of space now. The air was insanely thin and he could feel the pin pricks of cold as he left the relative warmth of the planet. A split second later heat hit him like a truck on the interstate. The heat was so intense so blinding so all consuming. If his absorption field had not kicked in, he knew he would have been dead. As it was, it took all his will to keep himself going and not stop or slow down. Nevertheless, he had to keep going. For several agonizing seconds pain from the heat ripped his body apart, he could feel his cloths burning and his skin burning. A heartbeat later nothing but cold surrounded him. He had made it he was out of the earth's atmosphere. He put as much power as he could into his flight.

He was close to the end now. He could feel the core destabilizing as he continued trying to get as far away from earth as possible. He must have been far enough now. Slowly he came to a stop. He put all his remaining power he pushed the suit as far away as he could. He was about to let go when Daniel used the last of the power he had to grab Eric's wrist and lock his hand in place. Eric only had time to let out a silent shout of "no!"

KURT'S POV

He had seen it all. The fight the plan and even Eric taking to the sky. Kurt Wagner had ported outside when he learned of what was going on. By the time he made it to where they had been Eric was long gone. Sky was looking up at the Sky, Adam had his arm around him and was tending to a wound on sky's neck. Others had appeared now. Dozens of other exo-gene workers had shown up. Kurt recognized feline, bio, and several others from the party exo-gene had thrown. Almost all of them were looking upwards at the sky, looking for some sign of Eric's return.

ERIC'S POV

Eric tried in vain to loosen Daniel grip on his wrist but it was all for not. a second before the core blew Daniel spoke. "You lose fag." That was the last thing Eric would hear.

KURT'S POV

Back on Earth, a second blue sun blossomed into existence in the sky. Everyone in the streets had to shield their eyes as the light from the explosion blinded them. A moment later, the explosion cooled and dissipated. A moment later, a feeling of pure terror ran through Kurt's body. He was not sure how he knew he just knew, Eric had not survived the blast. Slowly denial kicked in. Eric could not have died he wouldn't have died, but he somehow knew Eric had not survived. Slowly Kurt's legs went weak and he sank to the ground as silent sobs racked his body. He felt someone pull him into a tight hug and he did the only thing he could think of. He clung to that person and cried until his head hurt. Then bio's voice came from above him. "I'm sorry Kurt. I'm so sorry, he didn't deserve to die."

Anger, denial, and loss of hope all crashed into each other at once. Kurt pushed bio so hard that he fell to the ground and stared up at him. Kurt voice was full of desperation, fear and sadness. Tears streamed his face as he shouted at bio. "Don't say that! Don't you fucking say it! He is not dead! He can't be…. He…he-" Kurt was blinded by tear he fumbled desperately in his pocket and finally found what he was looking for. Kurt pulled out something in his hand and collapsed on the ground. "He can't be dead." Slowly bio got up and pulled Kurt into another huge. Kurt sobbed and clutched his hand tightly around the object he had pulled out of his pocket. Slowly bio carefully pried open Kurt's hand. Inside his tear socked blue hand was a small gold band that would have easily fit around Kurt's finger.

ERIC'S POV

Eric floated in nothingness. He was neither here nor there. Slowly Eric turned around in his new world. Blackness stretched as far as he could see. Slowly Eric spun around, and tried to find the source of an intense whispering noise in his ears. "Well well, well, web it looks like the final move is about to be made." Eric spun around for the umpteenth time and found he was not alone, as he had thought. 2 people were in front of him. One of them was a middle-aged man, he wore full metal armor covering all his body, and had the air of a wise man about him. Next to his sitting on a small throne an old woman sat. Her hair was flaked with gray and white. Her eyes were covered by round red glasses that completely hid them, from his sight. Her body was covered with what looked like a suit that tapered off much like that of a snake. Slowly Eric glided towards them until he was right in front of them. "who are you?" 

The woman smiled at him. "I am Madam Web. And this" she gestured to the man next to her. "this is the Beyonder." The man nodded to Eric who felt afraid of the man. Madam web smiled and chuckled. "Do not worry. Beyonder will not harm you. In fact, neither of us can harm you. In fact that's why you're here. You are here because you have one final choice to make. You've died your body is floating in space torn apart. There is no way for you to be heal, yourself, not even with your power as vast as it may be. Not without our help. We only ask you this. What will you do? Will you for one of the few times in your life be selfish and ask to live again or will you accept your death and move on to the next plain of existence? The choice is yours." 

Eric felt slightly dizzy. He was dead and yet here he was being given the option to come back, to live again. To fulfill his promise to Kurt.

FLASHBACK

There were on ios. Eric ran his hand slowly down Kurt's chest. He himself lay in a cocoon of blankets and sheets. Kurt smiling looked up at him and smiled. A second later Eric pulled Kurt into a tight kiss. Playfully Kurt pushed away from Eric and laid his head back down on Eric's chest. For several minutes, they both lay there then Kurt felt Eric tap him on the head. Still smiling Kurt looked up expecting to find Eric kissing him again. Instead, he found Eric holding a small gold ring and questioning look on his face. for several moment Kurt just looked at him stunned. Then all at once, the gravity of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks. Eric was asking Kurt if he would marry him. Smiling Kurt pulled Eric into a tight kiss, took the ring from Eric and put it on his finger. "Of course I'll marry you Eric, I love you."

END OF FLASHBACK

Slowly Eric looked up at madam web and the Beyonder. He knew what he wanted. "I've always tried to be selfless. I've always tried to do the right thing in this world, but for now I'm going to be a bad guy. I want to live. There is still so much more work I have to do. I choose life." Eric looked at madam web and the Beyonder with defiance in his eyes. For the first, time the Beyonder spoke. "I told you web. I told you he would choose life. Not because of his own desire to live but his desire to spare others the pain of his death. I was right." 

A flash of light so bright it blinded Eric sparked into existence. A heart beat later Eric opened his eyes. He was back on earth. In fact he was standing in the middle of the street outside of exo-gene head quarters. Slowly Eric turned to find dozens of his friends looking at him with some shock and disbelief. But among them was the one person he wanted to see more than any other. Kurt wager looked at him with aw and amazement. Slowly Eric moved forward and pulled Kurt into a hug. "Did you really think I'd leave you?' Kurt never got a chance to answer, as Eric pulled him into a tight kiss. 

SEVEN MONTHS LATER

IOS

Kurt was shaking. It was unreal. He was getting married. Kurt had just closed his eyes in an attempt to calm himself. This was broken when someone spoke from behind him. "You look nice Kurt." Kurt opened his eyes and turned to find Rouge and Kitty. Kitty wore a light blue spaghetti strap dress and rouge wore her normal clothing. Kurt smiled and looked at himself. He had to admit he did look good. He was currently wearing a light blue tuxedo. That was one thing Eric had been adamant about; he had said Kurt was going to look his best. Kurt's tuxes in itself had cost more than $5000. The wedding itself was free. Valerie had just about exploded when they had asked to be married on her island. She had immediately launched into how many people to invite and what kind of flowers to have. It had been slightly overwhelming. Now 3 months later there they were.

Kurt looked up as kitty cleared her throat. "Kurt its time to go. You have a VERY important, engagement." Kurt nodded and slowly made his way out of his changing room and out to the courtyard where the wedding itself was being held. As Kurt made his way out to the courtyard he found himself looking around the yard. Everything was decorated to the absolute extreme. The bushes had thousands of lights strung out in them, same of the trees. As Kurt rounded the corner, Eric came into view. He wore a black tuxedo with a glow for his heart shining clearly through. For some reason ever since he had tried to save everyone from Daniel the symbiot in him had not been able to hide the glow. It still absorbed the radiation but not the glow from his heart.

Kurt came to stop next to Eric who smiled at him. Valerie stood in front of them in a white dress and held a small book in her hands. After a moment she cleared her throat and silence fell over everyone in the area. Then she spoke. "To the mortal eyes we are simple creatures. boy or girl, good or evil, white or black, gay or straight. This is not so. This idea of simplicity is a conjecture by time and our very nature in itself. Therefore it is a time of rejoice when any 2 beings come forward and join in our most complex and sacred act of unity. no matter how unique these creatures may be they share their desire to no longer be simple, but to become one complex being. It is with this though in mind that I Valerie M. Azura on this day to hereby proclaim that for all intents and purposes join Eric Tooms and Kurt Wagner with the bindings they have made with there love. May they always find happiness, and peace of mind." Kurt stool a glace at Eric and was slightly surprised to see a tear running down his cheek. He was not looking at Valerie but behind her and off to the left. Following his gaze he found that a shimmering outline of john Eric's previous boyfriend stood watching the ceremony, a look of pure happiness on his face.

Kurt smiled. Yes Eric had been john's lover but now Eric was his and he was determined never to loose him. Not today, not tomorrow not ever.

EPOLOG

Shortly after Eric's and Kurt's wedding a bill was passed by congress making exo-gene the official representative for mutants all over the world. for the next 2 years Eric and Kurt would work endlessly to get an embassy in every country not matter how big or how small.

Shortly after that was completed operation gene was ended. with the help of over 56 million scientists Eric was finally able to see his dream come true when the final gene on the mutant genome was recorded on September 16.

Adam and sky married about 3 months after Eric and Kurt did. Their wedding was much bigger and was broadcast on television as the first gay mutant marriage in all of history. No one saw any need to tell people other wise.

To this day most of the original people from Eric's think tank are gone.

Bio went on to become one of the most successful doctors in history. In 2010 president obama made him attorney general and with his help ending up find a cure for many illnesses once thought to be incurable. bio's only comment to this was, "it was nothing. I just did my job."

Feline would start working for S.H.I.E.L.D shortly after that she dropped off the map and had rarely been seen since. Rumor has it only Eric truly knows where she is.

Despite their disagreements Eric and Xavier would eventually become partners. And work together to help young mutants learn to control their powers.

Kurt would go on to join the L.G.B.H. league of gay bi heroes. he now is leader and has over 500 heroes under his command and leadership.

at the age of 96 both Eric and Kurt died while in their sleep. Their passing marked the end of 2 of the greatest heroes in history. Their funeral was broadcast in 56 languages and in over 1,000 countries, making it the most watched event in television history. they now lay in exo-genes private graveyard next to john and others who did unimaginable things to help exo-gene.

2 years after their death Eric tooms and Kurt Wagner were admitted into the hall of eternal fame as the greatest peacekeepers of all time. To this day they are taught to every school child in the world.

The times may be different, the world may have changed but their message lives on through out the ages. a message of love, peace, and hope that one day all being both human and mutant alike could live in a world free of hatred and fear.

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A:N) well folks that's all I wrote. thank you for sticking with me and I hope you enjoyed the story. I do plan to write another xmen evolution story. but only after I finish up some of the other stories first. hope you don't mind.

I would like to specially thank all those who sent me emails about my story. it was much appreciated.

a very special thanks to david0703 who was the first to email me and remained by my side for the rest of the story. I could not have done it with out.

I wish I could say something classy and inspirational but that is just not my style. Instead I will leave you with my favorite quote in human history.

"If we have offended in any way. We offer no apology. Because we needn't need to. We have spoke our truths and let the good people interpret them in their own way and at their own pace. Once again we have taken people to the edge of the abyss and have let them look at what is at the bottom of it. For now and for always. Good night and good luck."


End file.
